The latest Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that all states in Nigeria generated the total sum of N691.11 billion between January and June 2019.
According to the Bureau’s report, the IGR generated by the 36 states and FCT rose by 94.2 billion (15.7%) when compared to the N596.91 billion IGR generated in half 2018.
The report also showed that thirty-one (31) states and the FCT recorded growth in IGR while five (5) states recorded a decline in IGR at the end of H1 2019.
The Breakdown: In half-year 2019, details of the report showed that across the 36 states, Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos State, generated the biggest IGR of N205.16 billion. This means Lagos IGR constituted 30% of the IGR generated across states in half-year 2019.
- River State ranks the second with the biggest IGR of N75.9 billion
- Other states among the top 10 states with the biggest IGR include FCT (N38.5 billion), Delta (N36.3 billion), Ogun (N29.5 billion), Kaduna (N22.4 billion), Akwa Ibom (N20.4 billion), Ondo (N19 billion), Kano (N18.5 billion) and Cross River (N16.7 billion).
- Meanwhile, Gombe, Yobe and Taraba states recorded the lowest IGR of N2.08 billion, N2.2 billion and N3.27 billion.
IGR Growth: Meanwhile, while Lagos is top in terms of the amount of IGR generated in half-year 2019, other states recorded the highest growth recorded in terms of IGR generated between half-year 2018 and half year 2019.
Further analysis showed that Zamafara State recorded the biggest growth in the total IGR in half-year 2019. Specifically, Zamafara generated N2.65 billion IGR in half-year 2018, while the state’s IGR rose to N7.21 billion in half-year 2019. This implies that Zamfara recorded a 171% increase in its total IGR between half-year 2018 and 2019.
Also, Kebbi and Osun States both rank second and third respectively with the biggest growth in IGR. Specifically, Kebbi generated N2.03 billion IGR in half-year 2018, while the state’s IGR hit N4.71 billion in half-year 2019. This means the state’s IGR rose by 132%.
On the other hand, Osun State’s IGR rose from N4.7 billion in half-year 2018 to N4.72 billion in half-year 2019, representing 131% in its IGR increase.
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In the meantime, while the decline in the federal allocation has been a critical concern to most states, the rise in IGR recorded in most of these states is indeed a welcome development, as this is expected to ease off pressures from the fiscal constraint currently witnessed in the economy.