Lagos tops with N398.7b IGR, as FG launches book on states
• Taraba records N6.5b lowest internal revenue • We must take capital importation back to $ 24b, says Fayemi
LAGOS State recorded over N398.7 billion Internally Generated Revenue ( IGR) on investment inflows from 2019 to 2020, making it to rank first among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT).
Taraba State took the least position with N6.5 billion IGR inflows.
The details are contained in the latest report tagged ‘’ Book of States” that was launched, yesterday, by the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council ( NIPC) in Abuja.
The report also indicates that Lagos State was followed by Rivers State with over N140.4 billion IGR . The detailed report also captured various budget figures of states, household consumption figures as well as short history of states and investment potentials, among others.
In his keynote address at the launch, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otumba Adeniyi Adebayo, said that the document captured the competitive advantages and key investment opportunities showcased by each state, including the FCT, to help investors better appreciate the potential that can be found in Nigeria. Adebayo appreciated the cooperation between the 36 state governors and FCT minister on the work. ‘’ This shows how we are all collectively working together to ensure that Nigeria is properly positioned to provide first- hand information on the abundant opportunities and advantages available in our nation.
“It will also help us attract the right investments to Nigeria and improve on our productivity as a nation, create jobs for our people and increase revenue generation for our country,’’ Adebayo said.
In his opening remarks, Chairman, Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum ( NGF), Kayode Fayemi, also described the book as a compendium that provides both domestic and foreign investors with critical information on the comparative advantages of states and allows for a more effective matching of investors with states. The Ekiti State governor said:’’ At the forum, which I have the privilege of chairing, we identified investment promotion as a critical driver of economic development and job creation. We are not only ready to implement wholesale reforms required for our respective states to improve our individual and collective environments, but also ready to set up appropriate channels to lead investment promotion activities at the sub- national levels’’. Fayemi who was represented at the occasion by the Director General of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Asishana Okauru, added: “National Bureau of Statistics says capital importation fell by almost 60 per cent from $ 24 billion in 2019 to $ 10 billion in 2020. This drop, fueled by the COVID- 19 pandemic and the resulting crash of commodity prices, must be reversed in 2021. We must work together as federal and state governments to, in the first instance, take capital importation back to 2019 levels and use it as a launch pad for future growth’’.