Yelwa makes case for increased IGR in states

THE Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Alhaji Aliyu Jibril Yelwa has canvassed the need for an increase in Internally General Revenue (IGR) profile of states and local governments.Yelwa, who spoke when he received officials of Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSCA) in his office last week, said there are so many untapped revenue sources in both states and local governments, which, if fully utilised, could make them fully independent and less dependent on federal allocations.Accorading to him, corruption and bad governance had made it impossible for governments to impose legitimate taxes on the citizens, adding that there was need to carry out an intensive research on how to redress the situation.Yelwa also called for a more aggressive tax regime in the country so as to boost the revenue profile of the country.The Acting Executive Director, of Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSCA), Dr. Ebere Uneze, said reliance on oil revenues by states at the expense of other viable sources of revenue was not sustainable, adding that the Centre was ready to collaborate with the Commission to embark on an up-to-date Fiscal Studies that would positively impact on the revenue profile of state and local government tiers of government.
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