Anambra, Ekiti Falter On IGR.

Recently, the State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM) put in place by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) scored Anambra and Ekiti States low on their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) profiles.

As if this was not damning enough, the mechanism also lamented that since 1999, both states have not conducted local government elections in their respective states.

Picture: Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti governor

This mechanism is a process through which the governors tell themselves some home truths.

However, it said that the IGR situation in Ekiti could be improved upon and wondered what the problem was with Anambra State which it rated very poor. The national coordinator of the mechanism, Dr Afeikhena Jerome in his report, expressed worry that the two states' weak IGR profiles and over dependence on federal allocation posed a major challenge.

The report said that Anambra's IGR has remained very low hovering around N500million monthly or 20 percent of the actual revenue receipts since 2007. It pointed out that the state has the potential to generate N2billion revenue monthly from internal sources with its 63 major markets currently in private control.

We are shocked that this state of millionaires and which has the highest concentration of industries in the whole of South East geopolitical zone could be so low on IGR. Nnewi alone can generate that conservative figure of N2 billion SPRM quoted. Or for that matter, Onitsha, which has the largest market in West Africa.

Picture: Peter Obi, Anambra governor

We are appalled that a businessman like Governor Peter Obi whose businesses are based in the state could not see the need to mop up the naira notes floating in the state's commercial centres.

The mechanism report commended the two states on their practices which have ensured peace, contract and debt management, transparency and accountability. But we insist that a lot more could have been achieved if the two states were hard working enough in the areas of IGR. Obi, in particular, has been consistently accused of hijacking local government allocations which run into several billions. For him, what's the point stressing oneself when that kind of easy money keeps rolling in on a regular basis? But he should have borrowed a leaf from Lagos State which claimed that it could survive on IGR alone. Could Obi have ceded those markets to the rascals in the state as settlement for the peace the state enjoys? Otherwise, the situation is inexplicable.

In our opinion, it is saddening that the state has not conducted local elections since 1999. If Obi were an astute politician many take him to be, he could have used the local government administration to consolidate his political base in the state. We also recall that this issue was one of the points of dis- agreement between him and the former party chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh who also accused him of not empowering his party followers at that level.

We are persuaded to urge the two state governors to shake off their lethargy or even laziness and get down to work so as to make their states less dependent on the federal government for resources they could conveniently generate in their territories.

Leadership Editorial