On Nasarawa’s quest for increased IGR

Nasarawa State is to Abuja what Ogun State is to Lagos, the former Federal Capital Territory. Being gateway to the FCT, Nasarawa with a population of close to two million people has the longest boundary with the FCT with Karu Local Government Area playing host to majority of FCT civil servants, security and military personnel […]

Nasarawa State is to Abuja what Ogun State is to Lagos, the former Federal Capital Territory. Being gateway to the FCT, Nasarawa with a population of close to two million people has the longest boundary with the FCT with Karu Local Government Area playing host to majority of FCT civil servants, security and military personnel as well as artisans and traders.

The heavy population density seems to have overstretched the facilities being provided by the state government even as it remains a veritable source of internally-generated revenue for the state. It is worth noting that the Karu-Keffi-Akwanga axis is host to the largest concentration of viable commercial farms that feed Abuja and environs. The axis also attracts the presence of commercial banks, schools, hotels, parks and gardens, another goldmine for revenue generation.

Nasarawa State is also endowed with abundant solid minerals and agric potential that would further boost the revenue generation drive of government. It was probably in recognition of the above untapped revenue potentials that the governor, UmaruTankoAlmakura, recently inaugurated the state’s Board of Internal Revenue where he gave the board an annual revenue target of N10 billion naira.

During the inauguration, the governor urged the new management under the chairmanship of Ahmed Mohammed to synergize with appropriate ministries, departments and agencies, such as ministries of lands and physical planning, commerce, industry and cooperatives, agriculture, urban development board and other agencies to explore available options for revenue generation.

Given the diverse sources of revenue in the state and with the calibre of people appointed into the board, it appears the board already has its job cut out for it. All it needs is to devise bold and courageous strategies for optimizing revenue generation. One of the strategies is to mount effective advocacy and mass mobilization campaign to sensitize the general public particularly potential tax payers on the benefits of paying tax. The state government must also strengthen the ease of doing business strategy and provide incentives in form of tax holidays and exemptions to attract more investors to the state. The provision of infrastructure and other vital social services would certainly encourage more people to pay tax.

It is, therefore, incumbent upon the new management to revitalize the system of tax collection by introducing e-collection platforms to minimize the incidence of revenue leakages, train its personnel on modern techniques of tax administration, employ young and vibrant tax officers to man new offices and widen the tax net for optimum collections.

 Muhammed can be reached at [email protected]