Abia targets N2bn monthly IGR
The state government wants to expand its revenue base
Article | September 3, 2012 - 2:47am | By Ikechukwu Onyekwere

In a bid to increase its revenue base, Governor Theodore Orji of Abia state has announced a monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) target of between N1 billion and N2 billion for the state.

Orji disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Umuahia, on the efforts by his administration to boost the state’s revenue base.

"The state is bound to produce a minimum IGR of between N1 billion to N2 billion monthly."

He said that realising the target would entail reorganising the state’s Board of Internal Revenue.

He said that already, the government had advertised the position of the chairman of the board in order to get a capable candidate for the job.

"They can be changed at any time; no tenure is permanent; even as a governor, we will go away by 2015.

"The emphasis is on how to shore up the IGR, because that is what is going to sustain us, make us survive and make us accomplish our projects.

"This is why the people who are in charge and galvanizing the forces that will generate this revenue must be up and doing."

He warned that he would not condone any laxity or any attempt to frustrate government’s efforts.

"What we are trying to do is to rejuvenate and re-engineer the system to work very well and give Abia the desired result."

The governor, who was away to the U.S. for his annual vacation, said that he held discussions with prospective investors, adding that the results would soon manifest.