The Federal Government generated N84.05bn from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy in the first quarter of 2025, according to data obtained from a Federal Inland Revenue Service document seen by Sunday PUNCH.
PUNCH reports that the figure represents a 76 per cent year-on-year increase compared to the N47.74bn collected during the same period in 2024, reflecting stronger enforcement and the expanding use of digital payment platforms across Nigeria.
A breakdown of the figures showed that in January 2025, EMTL collections stood at N21.40bn, a 29.1 per cent rise from the N16.59bn recorded in January 2024.
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February collections recorded the most significant jump, rising to N36.64bn from N15.79bn in February 2024 — more than doubling year-on-year with an increase of 132 per cent.
In March 2025, EMTL revenues were N26.01bn, up by 69.2 per cent from the N15.37bn earned in March 2024.
Month-on-month, February’s N36.64bn was 71 per cent higher than January’s N21.40bn.
However, March saw a 29 per cent drop from February’s peak, although it still outperformed March 2024 by a wide margin.
The EMTL, introduced under the Finance Act 2020 and implemented in 2021, imposes a N50 levy on electronic receipts or transfers of N10,000 and above.
Proceeds from the levy are shared among the three tiers of government based on an approved revenue-sharing formula, providing a supplementary revenue source that has grown in importance amid Nigeria’s push for increased non-oil revenues.
Usually, the proceeds are shared among the three tiers of government, with 15 per cent to the Federal Government and 85 per cent to states and local governments.
Sunday PUNCH further learnt that only about 96 per cent of the total EMTL revenue was shared among the three tiers of government.
An analysis of statements from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation showed that the Federation Account Allocation Committee disbursed a total of N80.69bn from Electronic Money Transfer Levy collections to the Federal Government, state governments, and local government councils in the first quarter of 2025.
This figure represents a significant increase from the N46.45bn shared in the corresponding period of 2024.
From this amount, the Federal Government received N3.082bn, state governments received N7.192bn, while local government councils were allocated N10.274bn.
In February 2025, the levy’s contribution rose sharply to N35.171bn.
Of this figure, the Federal Government received N5.276bn, states received N17.585bn, and local governments collected N12.310bn.
In March 2025, N24.971bn was shared from EMTL receipts, with the Federal Government taking N3.746bn, states N12.485bn, and local councils N8.740bn.
The distribution pattern in the first quarter of 2025 was different from that of the first quarter of 2024.
In January 2024, FAAC disbursed N15.922bn in EMTL collections, with N2.388bn going to the Federal Government, N7.961bn to states, and N5.573bn to local government councils.
In February 2024, from N15.157bn collected, the Federal Government received N2.274bn, the states got N7.578bn, and local governments, N5.305bn.
March 2024 EMTL collections stood at N15.369bn, with N2.213bn allocated to the Federal Government, N7.377bn to states, and N5.164bn to local governments.
On a year-on-year basis, the total EMTL shared in the first quarter of 2025 rose by 73.7 per cent compared to the corresponding period of 2024.
The Federal Government’s total EMTL allocation increased from N6.875bn in Q1 2024 to N12.104bn in Q1 2025, reflecting a growth of approximately 76 per cent.
For state governments, the amount rose from N22.916bn in the first three months of 2024 to N37.262bn in the same period of 2025, representing a 62.6 per cent increase.
Local government councils recorded the highest growth rate among the three tiers, with EMTL receipts rising by about 88 per cent from N16.659bn in Q1 2024 to N31.325bn in Q1 2025.
