The National Coordinator, Nigeria Governors‘ Forum (NGF) State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM), Dr Afeikhena Jerome said Ekiti Government had raised its Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) from N106 million monthly in 2010 to N1 billion monthly in 2012.

He made this known in an interview in Abuja.

Jerome was speaking on the findings of the NGF SPRM in Ekiti, which was one of the states that supported the take-off of the SPRM process, the other being Anambra.

He said Ekiti achieved the feat by blocking leakages in revenue collection and making tax payments affordable and convenient for the people in the informal sector.

“This finding is commendable and indicative of the potential for increasing the state’s IGR further and should be emulated by all states of the federation,’’ Jerome said.

He advised Ekiti government not to rest on its oars as a lot still needed to be done to reduce the state’s high dependence on federal allocation.

Jerome urged the state government to implement the unique national tax identification number and to examine the possibility of widening its tax base to further boost its IGR.

He commended Gov. Kayode Fayemi for his commitment to transparency and accountability in governance and the House of Assembly for passing into law “bills that will enhance public accountability’’.

According to Jerome, Ekiti is the first state in the federation to enact a state version of the Freedom of Information Act with the passage of the Ekiti State Freedom of Information Law No. 10 of  2011.

This, he said, would further ensure transparency, accountability and good governance in the state.

He also lauded the state government for domesticating the Fiscal Responsibility Law and for ensuring that the law included most of the main ingredients of fiscal responsibility.

He, however, advised the government to enhance its current efforts at fiscal planning by ensuring the existence of adequate professional capacity in the state’s Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.

Jerome urged the government to strengthen the state’s Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), and provide it with professional staff and freedom to operate and ensure greater use of open competitive bidding in procurement activities.

The national coordinator commended the state’s Social Security Scheme for the Elderly, saying the state was a “pace setter’’ in the introduction of social security policy in the country.

The Ekiti State Senior Citizen‘s Welfare Law, according to Jerome, authorises the provision of assistance to resident elderly people in areas of health care and payment of grants.

He said more than 20,000 elderly citizens had been enrolled as beneficiaries since the scheme was introduced and commended the state governor for ensuring popular participation in the state’s policy making processes.

He noted that the law made the people to become owners of state policies, having contributed to such policies, pointing out that the state government was relatively doing well in agriculture, education, environment and other sectors.

Jerome, however, said that the functionality of the state’s Primary Health Centres (PHCs) was uneven.

“The health sector in Ekiti is not lacking in strategies and public health policies that could engender good health for the people if assiduously adhered to.’’

According to him, the maternal and child health programme is available only in 34 of the 293 PHCs spread across the three senatorial districts of the state “which should be corrected without delay’’.

“The state has 20 general hospitals and two tertiary health institutions,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, reports say that DFID-State Partnership for Accountability and Capacity is partnering the NGF to drive the SPRM process, aimed at ensuring development in the states.

The process involves the sharing of useful experiences from other governments and the international community, and assessing each state’s strength, weaknesses and opportunities.