Gombe IRS Hits N20.7 Billion Mark in Half-Year Revenue for 2026

The Gombe State Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has declared a collection exceeding N20.7 billion in revenue within the first six months of 2026. This achievement positions the agency favorably to reach its projected annual target of around N39 billion by year-end.

Aisha Adamu, the Executive Chairman of the Gombe State IRS, shared this information on Thursday while briefing journalists on the agency's performance and accomplishments from January to June 2026. Adamu highlighted the consistent year-on-year growth in internally generated revenue, attributing this positive trend to enhanced tax administration, continuous staff development, strategic collaborations with key stakeholders, and improved compliance from taxpayers.

She reiterated the service's ambition to generate approximately N39 billion by the close of 2026, confirming that over N20.7 billion had already been accumulated at the time of her briefing. "Our target is around N39bn for the year. So as of today, we’ve done over, I think, N20.7bn," Adamu stated.

The chairman emphasized that revenue generation stands as one of the IRS's primary successes, noting that the agency's performance has surpassed that of the preceding year. "When we talk about the Internal Revenue Service, our major achievement has to do with our mandate, which is collecting revenue for the state. We have continued to grow our revenue year on year from the year we started here. So that is one of our major achievements. We are doing better than the previous year, 2025," she affirmed.

Adam also mentioned the agency's commitment to human capital development, evidenced by the regular training and exposure of its personnel to global best practices. "Secondly, we’ve been able to train our staff and expose them to best practices around the country, or the world, rather, because they’ve been attending several trainings, both virtually and physically, as well as visiting other nations," she explained.

Furthermore, Adamu detailed strengthened collaborations with various entities, including the Gombe State Government, security agencies, and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). These partnerships, she noted, are crucial for intelligence gathering and more effective tax collection. She said, “While doing that, we’ve been able to also collaborate with some of the stakeholders, such as the GRB, the security forces and the NFIU, where we gather intelligence to do tax collection.”

In an unexpected revelation, the chairman disclosed that the agency had successfully recovered more than four stolen vehicles during attempts to register them within Gombe State. These recoveries included both motorcycles and motor vehicles, some of which were originally stolen from other parts of Nigeria like Port Harcourt and Kaduna. "Another of our major achievements will be in the area of recovery of stolen vehicles, where we’ve been able to recover over four vehicles so far, including those stolen from places like Port Harcourt and Kaduna," Adamu confirmed, adding that these vehicles were handed over to the police, with some already returned to their rightful owners. She clarified that the recoveries encompassed both motorcycles and motor vehicles.

Adam urged Gombe residents and business operators who evade taxes to fulfill their civic responsibilities, describing taxation as a crucial social contract between the populace and the government. She underscored that government relies on revenue to fund infrastructure and essential public services, making taxpayer contributions indispensable. "I would like to call on them because paying taxes is a social contract," she said. "Government has done its own part by providing good roads, security, lights and other infrastructure, and those things are not free of charge. Someone has to finance them. And the government can only finance it with things such as the IGR. So it is mandatory, and they should be responsible enough to pay the taxes due from them.”

She also expressed gratitude to compliant taxpayers, assuring them that generated revenue is diligently accounted for and efficiently deployed. "To the taxpayers that are compliant, we want to say a very big thank you," Adamu stated. "What is very key is for you to have the trust and certainty that your taxes are being accounted for and being utilised effectively." She encouraged taxpayers to observe the visible development across the state as evidence of their contributions' impact. "With the development we’re seeing across the state, I think you can attest to that fact," she added.

Despite the successes, the IRS boss acknowledged ongoing challenges in revenue collection, specifically identifying human intervention, particularly from disgruntled individuals, as a significant obstacle to effective tax administration.