Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has said that Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) reforms being implemented by his administration in the state, had yielded positive results. He said an annual collection in all the 18 local council areas had climbed from N30 million in November 2016 to 150 million in November 2017.
Obaseki stated this when he inaugurated the Edo State Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs at the Government House, Benin City. He said the appreciable rise in revenue collection was as a result of various institutional reforms being implemented in the state, noting that the use of automated systems such as Point of Sale (PoS) machines, tax vouchers, among others, had revolutionized revenue collection in the local councils.
The governor added that the increased revenue profile had made local councils buoyant and now able to, not only meet their statutory obligations, but also contribute to development. He said the state took a methodological approach in attaining the feat with IGR, as it conducted pilot study in nine locations in Oredo Local Council to operationalize the concept adding that; “When we conducted the study, Oredo Local Government Area used to remit N42,000 a day, but after we introduced electronic devices, that sum climbed to N500,000.” Assuring that even more revenue was expected in the coming months, he said: “We are opening up Edo State for business and companies are heading down here.
It is expected that with increased business activity to be occasioned by our investment drive in the state, more companies will spring up and the revenue profile we see today, will rise even further.”
