Markets

Income Tax Paid by 23 Top NGX Firms Rises 73% to N3.41 Trillion in Nine Months

Oil and gas producers and banks account for 79% of the total, with Aradel, Seplat and GTCO the largest payers, BusinessDay analysis shows.

By Tumisang Bogwasi November 10, 2026 2 min read

Photo: S.aderogba / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) (file)

LAGOS – Income tax paid by 23 of Nigeria’s largest listed companies rose 73.31% to N3.412 trillion in the nine months to September 2026, from N1.968 trillion a year earlier, according to a BusinessDay analysis of NGX 30 constituents’ results.

Highlights

23 NGX 30 firms paid N3.412 trillion in income tax.
Oil and gas contributed 40.33%, banks 38.77%.
Aradel paid N690.32 billion, up from N40 billion.
MTN Nigeria’s income tax rose more than thirteenfold.

Who paid the most

Aradel Holdings was the largest payer at N690.32 billion, as pre-tax profit rose 154% to N764.71 billion. Chief operating officer Adegbite Falade said the jump reflected higher rates under the old petroleum tax regime, which applies to its newly consolidated ND Western and Renaissance assets.

Seplat Energy paid N685.76 billion, up 46.12%. GTCO paid N349.38 billion, up 41.42%, even though its pre-tax profit slipped 2.32%. Ecobank paid N331.59 billion.

MTN Nigeria’s payments rose to N295.36 billion from N21.55 billion. Chief financial officer Modupe Kadri said the rise was mainly driven by higher taxable profits and the normalisation of temporary differences that had reduced cash tax in 2025.

Sector split

Oil and gas companies paid N1.376 trillion and banks and financial services N1.323 trillion, together about 79% of the total. Telecoms contributed 8.66%, industrial goods 7.58% and consumer goods 2.88%.

Reform or profits?

The Nigeria Tax Act 2025, in force since 1 January, kept the 30% corporate rate but introduced a consolidated 4% development levy replacing several earmarked charges, and a minimum effective tax rate for qualifying companies.

Tax expert Yvonne Afolabi said the increase largely reflected stronger profits, and also highlighted the narrowness of Nigeria’s tax base rather than a broader set of contributors.

The Federal Ministry of Finance said on 5 November that government revenue reached about N33 trillion between January and October, Ecofin Agency reported. The Nigeria Revenue Service’s target for 2026 is N40.71 trillion, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

Why it matters

Heavy reliance on a few large oil producers, banks and telecoms groups leaves revenue exposed to oil prices and bank earnings. Investors will watch whether reforms widen the base and whether higher tax bills weigh on dividends.

Sources

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