Commission Boss Urges Increased IGR In States

The Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Alhaji Aliyu Jibril Yelwa, has canvassed the need for an increase in Internally Generated Revenue profile of states and local governments.

Yelwa, who spoke when he received officials of Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa in his office on Thursday, said there were so many untapped revenue sources in both states and local governments which, if fully utilised, could make them fully independent and less dependent on Federal allocations.

In a press release signed by the Head, Media of the FRC, Mr. Abdulganiyu Aminu, Yelwa said corruption and bad governance had made it impossible for governments to impose legitimate taxes on the citizens, adding that there was need to carry out an intensive research on how to redress the situation.

Yelwa also called for a more aggressive tax regime in the country so as to boost the revenue profile of the country.

In his own speech, the Acting Executive Director, of Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa, Dr. Ebere Uneze, said reliance on oil revenues by states, at the expense of other viable sources of revenue, was not sustainable; adding that the CSEA was ready to collaborate with the Commission to embark on an up-to-date fiscal studies that would positively impact the revenue profile of states and local governments.