S’West makes N926.6bn IGR in five years – DFID

 

The South-West region of the country has been rated high in internally generated revenue collection, raking in a total of N926.7bn between 2007 and 2011.

Regional Coordinator for the British Directorate for International Development in Nigeria, Dr. Adesina Fagbenro-Byron, made this known at the South-West regional conference on ‘Internally Generated Revenue’ in Akure on Tuesday.

He said in respect of geo-political zones, the percentages of IGR to total revenue during the period 2007-2011 showed that South-West had 26 per cent; North-West, 11.6 per cent;  South-East, 10.9 per cent; North-Central, 9.8 per cent; South-South 9.5 per cent and North-East, 6.9 per cent.

He said, “The South-West accounted for 44.3per cent (N926.6bn) of the total internally generated revenue of all the geo- political zones.

“The total internally generated revenue of the South-West between 2007 and 2011, which stood at N926.6b, was more than what the four zones of North-West, North-East, South-East and North-Central, which put together, had during the same period (N675.5b).

“Specifically, Lagos State’s internally generated funds are more than that of North-West, North-East, North-Central and South-East geo- political zones put together (24 states).

Fagbenro-Byron however, noted that while the picture might be rosy for the South-West, when compared with what should be the case and the potential for growth, it must be admitted that the region was not doing enough.

He lamented that the IGR had taken the second position in sources of revenue, when Nigeria put heavy reliance on the single resource of oil.

He said, “Many states and local governments depend on monthly statutorily allocations from the central vault to carry out their businesses.

“Studies were carried out on the proportions of the IGR to total revenues of states for a five-year period (2007-2011).

“Data sourced from the annual reports of Central Bank of Nigeria found that states getting additional revenue from the statutory allocations as derivation have lower proportions of IGR to their total revenues than some states.”

He said states threatened by insurgency had the lowest IGR for the period, stressing that dependence on the statutory allocations by the states did not necessarily translate to good dividends on democracy.

He argued that it was IGR, which further strengthened the social contract between the people and the citizens that could be used to bring real development to the states.

“The purpose of the workshop is to undertake a review of the improvements on the IGR six south-western states since the last summit of 2010,” he said.

Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, said 60 years ago, the South-West economy thrived on its IGR, accruing from the production of cash crops, urging the states to reenact the glorious era.

He said, “This consequent wake up call, incidentally, reminds us of our rich history in the South-West. A history in which the South-West region provided the necessary leadership and blazed the trail in matters of socio-economic development in the country.”

He noted that various developmental strides in Ondo State were made possible due to the intensification of the state’s independent revenue drive.