Between January 2011 and December 2017, a total of N4.99tn was earned as Internally Generated Revenue by the 36 states of the federation, an analysis of figures obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics has revealed.
The analysis of the states’ IGR report made available to our correspondent on Friday showed that the states’ total revenue recorded a sharp increase between 2011 and 2013 after which the figures declined steadily up to the 2016 before picking up in 2017.
For instance, the sum of N499.08bn was earned by the states in 2011.
The figure rose to N567.99bn and N800bn in 2012,and 2013, respectively.
However, in 2014 and 2015, the states revenue dropped by N92.15bn and N25.18bn to N707.85bn and N682.67bn, respectively.
For the 2017 fiscal period, the report stated that the sum of N801.95bn was generated by the 36 states as the IGR.
The figure further rose to N931.23bn in the 2017 fiscal period.
The National Bureau of Statistics in the report stated that the IGR was generated from five main revenue sources
They are Pay-As-You-Earn; direct assessment; road taxes; Ministries, Departments and Agencies; and other revenue.
The IGR made by these states excludes the monthly allocation, which they received from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee.
A further analysis of the revenue showed that Lagos State with a total revenue of N1.98tn generated within the seven year period led the IGR collection chart.
The N1.98tn, when further broken down, showed that the state earned N202.76bn in 2011. N219.20bn in 2012 while the sums of N384.25bn, N276.16bn and N268.2bn were generated as the IGR in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.
For the 2016 fiscal period, the state generated N302bn as the IGR before peaking at N334bn in 2017.
Rivers State followed on the revenue chart with a total collection of N550bn within the period.
The amount was earned as follows: N52.71bn in 2011, N66.27bn in 2012, N87.91bn in 2013, N89.12bn in 2014, and N82.1bn in 2015.
For the 2016 and 2017 fiscal periods, the state generated IGR of N89bn and N85bn, respectively.
Ogun State, according to the NBS, came third by generating a total of N235bn. The state was able to grow its IGR from N10.8bn in 2011 to N72bn in 2017.
At the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting held in December, state governments had resolved to begin an aggressive drive to shore up their IGR from this year.
The move is part of measures aimed at reducing the over dependence of state governments on revenue from the federation account.
The Chairman, Forum of Finance Commissioners of the FAAC, Mr. Mahmoud Yunusa, said that states would be setting up machinery to assist in boosting the IGR.
He said, “There are lot of states doing very well in terms of revenue generation and most of the states in the North-East have started doing very well because there is improvement in commercial activities and taxes are being collected in these areas.
“A lot of states are really making progress but we are far away from where we should be and we will get there very soon. If there is one restructuring that is very difficult, it is to restructure the revenue base.”
Yunusa also said, “Our intention is to really reduce significantly the over-dependence of states on revenue that comes from the centre.
“We want to set up the machinery by giving ourselves some time to raise our revenues and a lot of states are on course. In the next one year, we will see a significant improvement along that line. And we will give the Federal Government a break but with our eyes open on what is supposed to get to us.” (Punch)
