Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti has charged participants of the Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) retreat organized by the State government to devise a sustainable strategy to enhance the State’s IGR, with a view to strengthening its fiscal viability.
Governor Otti gave the charge during a special presentation of the outcome of the report of the two -day retreat for IGR stakeholders in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the State government.
The Governor emphasized the need for the State’s IGR to surpass loan provisions for financing the 2024 budget, and expressed confidence that with proper measures, the projected borrowing of over 400 Billion could be significantly reduced.
“If we do what we should do and we do them right, then there is no reason why the over 400 Billion that is supposed to be raised as loans should not reduce to the barest minimum.
“We expect a situation and a scenario where Internally Generated Revenue would spike up and take over our provisions for loans. So, in simple English, what I am saying is that we believe that by the end of the year, we will not borrow as much money that we had put in the budget“, Governor Otti remarked.
He said that elsewhere, government generates income and undertake expenditure, describing as a misnomer, a situation where sub nationals go to the centre cap in hands for allocation.
Governor Otti expressed hope that if the right thing is done, by the end of the year, the State should not have borrowed as much as it puts in the budget.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to fiscal prudence, exemplified by the repeal of the pension law for ex-Governors and Deputies, emphasizing the policy’s focus on good governance and cost reduction.
“So, when you saw that we put through our resolve to cut cost of governance by stopping frivolous payments to people who have left government, it is because we just believe that the right thing should be done .
“Very soon we will also be former Governor. So, the policy is not targeted at anyone, it’s targeted at good governance, it’s targeted at reduction in the cost of governance . And quite frankly, we believe it is the right thing to do.
“We don’t believe that politics is a business. We believe that people should have things they are doing before coming to serve. And if you have offered yourself to serve, then you should be willing to make the required sacrifices.
“It is expected of you is to make sacrifices for the betterment of the State. So, the days of sharing money are over , the days of blood tonic politics are also over. This is the time to make sacrifices for the interest of the State”, Otti said.
The Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Mike Akpara, emphasized the imperative to overhaul the revenue generation approach, ensuring taxes align with government promises while calling for concerted efforts to alleviate the state’s debt burden through enhanced IGR generation.
Mr Akpata explained that the state government would not tax people unduly, called for all hands to be on deck to generate enough revenue to enable government fulfill it’s promise of delivering democracy dividends to the people.
