From Tony Obiechina, Abuja 

Lagos State  has maintained its leadership in Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) among the 36 states of the Federation  and  Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as it collected the highest   figure of N753.46 billion in 2021.

The state was followed by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which collected N131.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated on Sunday, in Abuja that in 2020, Lagos State also led other states in IGR collection when it got N660 billion, followed by Rivers at N117.19 billion.

In Kaduna, the Governor, Nasir el-Rufai has said his state attracted $4.

In 2019, Lagos State also took the lead when it collected N646.61 billion again, followed by Rivers that collected N169.6 billion.

The NBS stated in its Internally Generated Revenue at States Level (2019 – 2021) report that the 36 states of the federation combined collected N1.64 trillion as IGR in 2019.

It stated that 64.65 per cent of the revenue collected by the states was from taxes.

The NBS added that the N1.64 trillion collected in 2019 declined by 4.65 per cent in 2020 when the states collected N1.56 trillion internally.

“The proportion of tax revenue in 2020 rose to 66.16 per cent, however,’’ it stated.

The NBS stated also that in 2021, the 36 states collected N1.9 trillion internally, representing a growth rate of 21.54 per cent over the 2020 revenue collections.

Kaduna State Attracts $4.48bn Investments in Seven Years

Kaduna State Government has attracted a total investment portfolio of $4.48 billion comprising actualized and announced investments in the last seven years, Gov. Nasir El-Rufai, has said.

The governor also said that the efforts had resulted in creating 75, 750 direct and indirect jobs.

el-Rufai made this known in his presentation weekend at the 7th Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit, which commenced on Thursday.

According to him, the flow of investments is a result of the state government’s continuous effort of providing conducive environment for the private sector to drive the economy through numerous policy actions and reforms.

The governor gave a recap of what his administration achieved since inception and why investors should invest in Kaduna state.

According to him, the state has abundant natural resources, a productive workforce, steady economic growth and served as the gateway to the Northern market.

‘’Kaduna state is also the most improved state in 2018 Ease of Doing Business Subnational report by the World Bank and it has a very investor-friendly environment,” he added.

El-Rufai further said that the state ‘’is also the third biggest consumer market in Nigeria, the third most populous state in Nigeria and has 52% of Nigeria’s consumer market.

‘’Besides, Kaduna state is rich in mineral resources as it has over 25 non-oil mineral deposits, including gold, iron ore and marble,’’ he added.

The governor said one of the major achievements of his administration was raising N52 billion Internally Generated Revenue in 2021, as against N11 billion in 2015, when he assumed office.

He listed other achievements to include the remodelling of Murtala Muhammed Sqaure, which now has world class sporting facilities, shopping malls, restaurants and various recreational centres.

Others are the construction of urban roads in Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria, upgrade of schools infrastructure, construction of Kawo and Barnawa flyovers.

‘’KDSG has handed over Zaria Pharmaceuticals to private investors who will produce syringes, intravenous fluids and specimen bottles.

“The revamped company is expected to create 200 direct and over 1,000 indirect jobs,‘’ he added.

According to him, the government has offered loans to women, built a Technology Cit at Barnawa, with CoLab Innovation Campus as anchor tenant.

“The manufacturing facility of AMA Medical, a plant built to produce intravenous fluids, was also commissioned,’’ he recalled.

He said that the innovative Zipline’s  operations for instant delivery of medical consumables to health facilities was inaugurated at Pambegua, the first of three planned distribution hubs in the state.

‘’KDSG signed a technical and management service agreement with Doctors Clinic Company of the United Arab Emirates on the 300 bed hospital at Millennium City.

‘’In addition, it also signed an agreement with Elekta for the purchase of equipment for the nuclear medicine and oncology centre at the hospital.

“This will expand the national capacity for treating cancer,’’ he said.

On the theme of KadInvest 7.0 “Building  a Resilient Economy’’, the governor said it was for the state government to be innovative in the wake of the global economic slowdown and to sustain ongoing reforms.

According to el-Rufai, states should ‘’begin to innovate and become more resilient against global economic shocks.

“And begin to harness their comparative advantages to increase internally generated revenues and job creation to withstand these crisis.’’(NAN)