Data from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for January 2026 has revealed that Nigeria’s Value Added Tax (VAT) pool rose in January with total collections rising from N721.83 billion in December 2025 to N913.47 billion in January 2026.
This represents a 26.6 per cent increase month-on-month.
Despite the significant increase in the national VAT pool, the growth was not evenly distributed across the federation.
Only 17 of the 36 states and the FCT increased their VAT contributions during the period while the remaining 20 states recorded declines in their contributions.
Among the states that recorded the fastest growth was Enugu, which more than doubled its VAT contribution from N2.06 billion in December to N5.64 billion in January, representing a 173.7 per cent increase.
Bayelsa, Borno, and Ondo also posted triple-digit growth in VAT contributions.
Notably, four of the states with strong percentage growth — Borno, Gombe, Yobe, and Bauchi — are located in the north-east, a region traditionally associated with lower VAT generation.
Conversely, Imo recorded the highest disparity in January 2026, contributing N559.2 million but receiving N10.66 billion from the pool.
This means Imo received N19 for every N1 it contributed, the highest ratio among all states.
Taraba followed with a ratio of 17.2 to 1, contributing N545.42 million but receiving N9.37 billion.
Other states showing similar patterns include Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Kogi, and Abia, each contributing less than N2 billion while receiving between N9.45 billion and N11 billion.
