Zamfara State government said it recorded the highest growth in internally generated revenue because it decided not to rely on Federal Account Allocation Committee revenue.
Spokesperson for the Zamfara Governor, Sulaiman Idris, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
This comes as Zamfara State emerged highest with 240.44 percent IGR growth to N22.61 billion in 2023 from N6.51 billion in 2022.
Reacting to the report, the government attributed the feat to increased drive in revenue-generating components in the state.
The state explained that its dependence on FAAC dropped from 90.52 percent in 2022 to 74.66 percent in 2023.
According to Idris, the state’s total revenue increased by 65.35 percent to N144.95 billion in 2023 from N87.68 billion earned the previous year.
“This significant feat can be attributed to the state reversing the decline of 49.75 percent observed in its 2022 IGR, increasing it by 240.22 percent from N6.51 billion in 2022 to N22.16 billion in 2023.
“There were significant increases in components of Zamfara’s IGR year-on-year: its income tax grew by 142.26 percent from N5.03 billion in 2022 to N12.18 billion, licences rose by 5921.22 percent from N22.78 million in 2022 to N1.37 billion in 2023, and fees grew by 3610.38 percent from N82.44 million in 2022 to N3.06 billion in 2023.
“Additionally, fines rose by 1924.52 percent from N24.15 million in 2022 to N491.32 million in 2023, sales grew by 32.49 percent from N772.06 million in 2022 to N1.02 billion in 2023, earnings grew by 542.59 percent from N87.53 million in 2022 to N562.48 million in 2023, and its earnings from other taxes grew by 519.71% from N412.03 million in 2022 to N2.55 billion in 2023.
“Furthermore, the state generated revenue from rent on government buildings, rent on lands and others, investment income, and reimbursement, where it recorded no revenue in the previous year. Zamfara can demonstrate a commitment to improving its financial sustainability by exploring its natural resources in collaboration with the Federal Government to diversify its revenue base.
“The state’s total revenue increased by 65.35 percent to N144.95bn in 2023 from N87.68bn earned the previous year. Regarding recurrent revenue structure, the state’s susceptibility to external fiscal shocks appeared to have reduced from the previous year as its FAAC dependence decreased from 90.52 percent in 2022 to 74.66 percent in 2023, despite the FAAC allocation rising by 4.93 percent from N62.21bn to N65.28bn. Lastly, the IGR to recurrent revenue ratio for 2023 was 22.16 percent higher than 9.48 percent in 2022.”
