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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Federal Government generated N33 trillion in revenue in the first 10 months of 2026, with the deployment of digital tools, particularly electronic invoicing, contributing to the improved collection.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Thursday at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, while delivering the institution’s convocation lecture.
Speaking on the theme, “Digital Sovereignty and Ethics: Guarding the Economy for the Next Generation,” Oyedele said technology was increasingly becoming an important instrument for improving government revenue and strengtheningpublic sector operations.
He identified the adoption of electronic invoicing and other digital systems as part of the measures supporting the revenue performance, which saw collections reach N33 trillion between January and October.
The minister’s position was contained in a statement issued by Maryann Duke, Senior Special Assistant on Communications and Press Secretary to the Minister.
“He pointed to improved digital systems, including electronic invoicing, as a key driver behind a record N33 trillion in government revenue collected between January and October 2026, as evidence of technology’s potential to strengthen revenue administration and public sector efficiency,” the statement read in part.
Beyond revenue mobilisation, Oyedele urged Nigeria to pay greater attention to the economic value of data generated within its borders, warning that excessive dependence on foreign digital infrastructure could limit the country’s ability to benefit from its expanding digital economy.
He argued that data should be treated as a strategic economic resource, particularly as millions of Nigerians increasingly depend on digital platforms for financial transactions, healthcare, education and other services. To illustrate the scale of the opportunity, the minister cited Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) figures showing that Nigeria had over 157 million active internet subscriptions as of May 2026.
Despite this growing digital activity, he said estimates by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission indicated that about 90 per cent of the country’s data was hosted outside Nigeria.
Oyedele warned that such dependence could have wider economic consequences, including foreign exchange leakages, reduced opportunities for local businesses, limited employment and skills development, as well as concerns over national control of information.
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He likened the situation to Nigeria’s past dependence on imported refined petroleum products, cautioning that the country should not allow its digital economy to develop along the same path by generating data locally but relying on foreign companies to process and commercialise it.
He therefore called for increased investment in local data infrastructure, technical skills and innovation, alongside stable regulatory policies that would encourage domestic and international investment in the sector.
The minister stressed, however, that achieving digital sovereignty did not mean shutting Nigeria out of global technology markets.
Rather, he said the country needed the capacity to compete internationally through skilled manpower, strong local enterprises, effective institutions and reliable cybersecurity systems.
The N33 trillion revenue performance comes amid the Federal Government’s efforts to modernise tax administration through the introduction of electronic invoicing and other digital monitoring systems.
The initiative, introduced in 2025, was designed to improve the documentation of business transactions, promote transparency and strengthen voluntary tax compliance.
More than 1,000 large companies were integrated into the platform during its initial phase.
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) subsequently commenced a phased implementation of the system in February 2026, building on stakeholder consultations and pilot exercises that started in January 2025.
The platform became operational for large taxpayers on August 1, 2025, while the initial compliance deadline wasextended to November of the same year to allow businesses address operational and transitional challenges.
In July 2026, the NRS directed all large taxpayers to complete adoption of the national e-invoicing and Electronic Fiscal System (EFS) by July 31, 2026.
The system is expected to give the revenue agency better visibility into commercial transactions, improve the accuracy of tax records and strengthen its capacity to monitor compliance.
