The Nigerian manufacturing sector, producers of the country’s leading brands, paid a total of N881.29 billion in Company Income Tax (CIT) in 2025, according to the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The figures show a sharp rise from the N663.46 billion recorded in 2024. The 32.8 per cent year-on-year jump demonstrates the sector’s expanding role in Nigeria’s tax revenue base and its growing contribution to industrial activity beyond the oil economy.
According to the report, the sector’s tax performance was strong but uneven throughout the year. Contributions started at N107.90 billion in Q1, then surged to N360.20 billion in Q2, the highest single-quarter figure of the year. Output then eased to N271.34 billion in Q3 and fell further to N141.84 billion in Q4.
The report revealed that the Q4 dip mirrored a broader pullback in corporate tax collections nationwide. Total CIT across all sectors dropped nearly 50 per cent quarter-on-quarter, falling from N2.96 trillion in Q3 to N1.49 trillion in Q4, though that Q4 figure still represented a 13.38 per cent improvement over the same period in 2024.
For the full year, the report shows that the total CIT collections across all sectors reached N9.218 trillion.
In Q4, domestic companies contributed N819.83 billion to CIT while foreign firms accounted for N668.21 billion, suggesting a relatively balanced split between local and international corporate taxpayers.
Despite its tax contributions, the manufacturing sector’s share of real GDP edged down slightly to 8.05 per cent in 2025 from 8.24 per cent the year before.
Consumer goods, cement, and industrial materials have been among the key sub-sectors driving output and revenue within manufacturing. The sector continues to sit at the heart of Nigeria’s economic diversification push, which aims to reduce the country’s long-standing dependence on oil income.
However, manufacturers still contend with persistent headwinds, including elevated production costs, exchange rate volatility, and infrastructure gaps that continue to weigh on margins and quarterly performance.
The sharp Q4 contraction in overall CIT collections, which reversed gains recorded in Q3 when receipts rose 6.55 per cent to N2.96 trillion, points to the sensitivity of corporate tax revenues to macroeconomic conditions. Analysts say the full-year growth trajectory remains broadly positive, even as short-term fluctuations highlight the fragility of the operating environment.