Lagos leads VAT remittance with ₦305B, over 53% of total and more than 3x Rivers'

Key Takeaways

Lagos State contributed ₦305B in VAT, making up over 53% of the national total and more than three times that of any other state.
Rivers (₦90B) and Oyo (₦27B) followed Lagos as the second and third highest contributors, highlighting a steep drop after the top state.
Only a few states, including Bayelsa, Kano, Kwara, and Edo, remitted above ₦5B, showing a highly uneven distribution of VAT contributions.
Over 8 states, such as Kebbi, Osun, Imo, and Zamfara, contributed less than ₦2B each, indicating minimal VAT activity in many parts of the country.

In January 2025, Lagos State remitted a staggering ₦305 billion in VAT, over 53% of the national total and more than three times the ₦90 billion contributed by Rivers, the second‑highest state. Oyo was the third-highest contributor with ₦27 billion. These three states together generated nearly three‑quarters of Nigeria’s entire VAT yield, underscoring their outsized economic weight. Mid‑tier contributors such as Bayelsa (₦12.8 billion), Kano and Kwara (₦9.5 billion each), and Edo (₦5 billion) remitted less than half of Oyo’s contribution, revealing a steep drop‑off.

At the bottom tier, more than eight states each contributed under ₦2 billion, including Kebbi (₦1.9 billion), Ondo (₦0.9 billion), Imo (₦1.5 billion), Taraba (₦0.9 billion), and Zamfara (₦1.4 billion). Together, they accounted for only a few percent of the total, highlighting profound regional disparities in VAT collection.

Source:

Federal account allocation committee (FAAC)

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights/lagos-leads-vat-remittance-with-%e2%82%a6305b-over-53-of-total-and-more-than-3x-rivers/" title="Lagos leads VAT remittance with ₦305B, over 53% of total and more than 3x Rivers&#039;"><img src="https://intelpoint.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Intelpoint_Grey_20250424_135355_0000-scaled.webp" style="width: 80%; height: auto; max-width:960px;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; margin: 0 auto; display: block;" alt="Chart: Lagos leads VAT remittance with ₦305B, over 53% of total and more than 3x Rivers'"/></a><br><span>Find more insights at <a href="https://intelpoint.co/insights?utm_source=Insight%20Embed&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=Lagos+leads+VAT+remittance+with+%E2%82%A6305B%2C+over+53%25+of+total+and+more+than+3x+Rivers%27" target="_blank" style="color: #4f9acc; text-decoration: none;">Intelpoint</a>.</span></div>Copied to clipboard!

Period:

January 2025

HTML code to embed chart

Want a bespoke report?

Reach out

Related Insights

Kano leads all Nigerian states with 44 LGAs; FCT, Bayelsa, and Nasarawa have the fewest with 6, 8, and 13 respectively

Kano State has the highest number of LGAs in Nigeria, with 44, far exceeding the national average of 21 LGAs per state.
Bayelsa, Nasarawa, and the FCT have the fewest LGAs, recording 8, 13, and 6 respectively, despite varying population sizes and landmass.
Northern states dominate the upper tier of the LGA count, with Katsina (34), Oyo (33), and Jigawa (27) all ranking among the top.
Southern states tend to have fewer LGAs, with Lagos and Ogun, two highly urbanised states, having just 20 LGAs each, hinting at a denser governance structure per area.

South west leads with Lagos recording 114 female candidates, while the North East trails with just 7 in Yobe

Lagos had the highest female representation in Nigeria’s 2023 elections, with 114 female candidates, more than any other state.
Yobe recorded the lowest, with just 7 female candidates, highlighting a wide disparity in representation across regions.
The South East and South South zones recorded some of the strongest numbers overall, with Imo (86) and Rivers (85) nearly matching Lagos.
The South West led overall in female candidate numbers, while the North East trailed, with its highest (Gombe – 42) still lower than other zones’ peaks.

The South-West remitted ₦341.18B in VAT but received only ₦106.85B, getting back just ₦0.31 for every ₦1 remitted.

Lagos carried the South-West VAT burden, remitting ₦305.52B (89.6% of the region's total) but receiving only ₦62.59B (20.5% return), making it the highest net contributor in Nigeria.
Osun had the most disproportionate gain, remitting a mere ₦590M but receiving ₦7.73B, an astronomical 1,211% return—the highest redistribution gain in the South-West.
The entire South-West remitted ₦341.18B but received only ₦106.85B, meaning it got back just ₦0.31 for every ₦1 contributed, highlighting a severe VAT allocation imbalance.
Ondo and Ogun remitted only ₦3.3B but received ₦16B combined, far exceeding their generated VAT, while Lagos alone subsidised most of the allocations across the country.

Abia State generated just 1.9% of the South-East’s VAT revenue but took home 18.6% of the total the region received

The South-East remitted ₦10.94 billion in VAT but received ₦39.15 billion, a 257.7% increase, showing a high reliance on VAT sharing.
Abia, the lowest contributor (₦734M), received ₦7.29B, nearly 10× its remittance, making it the biggest relative beneficiary in the region.
Anambra, the highest contributor (₦3.56B), received only ₦8.72B, showing a sharing trend where high-contributing states do not necessarily receive the most.
Every South-East state received at least 2× what they remitted, with an average allocation of ₦7.83B despite an average contribution of just ₦2.19B.

Zamfara, the lowest contributor, received over 5× its input, while Kano, the highest contributor, had the lowest relative gain

The North-West region received ₦66.55 billion, more than double its remittance (₦28.31B), showing a heavy reliance on federal VAT sharing.
Zamfara, the lowest contributor (₦1.45B), received the highest percentage gain (+433%), getting ₦7.72B, while Kano, the highest contributor (₦9.59B), had the smallest relative gain (+41.5%).
Kaduna and Katsina, despite remitting ₦3.50B and ₦3.86B, received ₦10.18B and ₦10.01B, respectively, nearly tripling their remittance.
Kano remitted 34% of the zone’s VAT but received only 20.4% of the total allocation, reinforcing that VAT is distributed based on equality and not economic strength.

Every North-East state received at least 2× what they contributed (₦46.68 billion in total), a 211.6% increase

The North-East remitted only ₦14.98 billion but received ₦46.68 billion, showing a 211.6% gain due to sharing.
Taraba, the lowest contributor (₦0.94 billion), saw the highest percentage gain (635%) with an allocation of ₦6.91 billion, reinforcing that smaller economies benefit the most from VAT sharing.
Bauchi, despite remitting just ₦2.44 billion, received the highest allocation (₦8.93 billion), a 266% increase, illustrating how VAT is shared based on equality and population, not economic activity.
Every state in the region received at least 2× what they remitted, highlighting the North East’s reliance on VAT sharing and fuelling the fiscal federalism debate on whether VAT should be retained at the state level.