The Ogun State Government has said it is optimistic about meeting and even surpassing its N100bn internally generated revenue target for 2022 because of the numerous innovative ideas already put in place.
The state Commissioner for Finance and Chief Economic Adviser to the Governor, Dapo Okubadejo, described the IGR target as realisable.
Okubadejo, in an interview with journalists on Monday in Abeokuta, said the government had broadened its revenue base through innovation, provision of infrastructure and digital transformation initiatives towards the realisation of the target.
He said, “We have embarked on a lot of fiscal, economic and financial management reforms in the areas of fiscal responsibility, debt management, procurement, treasury management, investment promotion and ease of doing business, amongst others.
“In addition, several economic transformation initiatives have been implemented to deepen and broaden the revenue base of the state while blocking leakages and improving process efficiency and service delivery through digitisation.”
Okubadejo said the state witnessed giant strides through rapid socio-economic and infrastructural developments in all the three senatorial districts.
He said the achievements recorded by Prince Dapo Abiodun’s administration in the last 31 months had been a result of the judicious and prudent management of resources available to it.
The commissioner said Abiodun had demonstrated a high level of competence, commitment and innovativeness to transform the state since his assumption of office.
He said the administration had embarked on the construction and the reconstruction of many roads, some of which had been completed, including the Epe-Ijebu-Ode Expressway and the Abeokuta-Siun-Sagamu road.
He said several other major economic infrastructure projects such as the Atan-Agbara-Lusada road and International Agro-Cargo Airport were at different stages of completion and would be inaugurated this year.
Okubadejo said the completion of most of the projects, either newly initiated or inherited from the previous administration, could not have been possible without the improved IGR and the long-term infrastructure financing from the Central Bank of Nigeria, at a single digit interest rate and two years moratorium.
He said, “The high inflationary environment in Nigeria has increased the cost of building infrastructure, thereby making it increasingly elusive but for the availability of long-term debt financing such as those provided by the CBN for economically-viable infrastructure projects with commensurate revenue generation opportunities.
“Governance is about service to the people. The governor is not sectional in his approach to ensure meaningful developments that have been impacting positively on the lives of the citizens.”
Article first published on the Punch Website
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