Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Governor Alex Otti, has said that he hopes to reduce the proposed N400 billion loan needed to fund the 2024 budget of Abia State through a rise in the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, of the state.
He, therefore, tasked Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) to generate strategies to shore up the state’s IGR.
Otti who gave the charge in Umuahia during a follow-up retreat where the MDA heads led their teams to present strategies to shore up their revenue profiles and make the state fiscally viable, argued that if they work hard, the state could internally generate some of the funds it had intended to borrow.
This is as the Governor has explained that the recent scraping of pension for former Governors and their Deputies was not to witch-hunt any person as being misconstrued by some persons.
He said it was a necessary step to take for the good of the masses.
The Governor who said he would not tolerate indolence, charged the heads of MDGs to put on their thinking caps and come up with results.
He said: “If we do what we should do and we do them right, then there is no reason the over N400 billion that is supposed to be raised as loans to finance the 2024 budget should not reduce to the barest minimum.
“So, we expect a situation and a scenario where our IGR would spike 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 than we had put in the budget.”
Governor Otti said it was a misnomer for states to depend on federal allocation every month, insisting that they must explore ways to be financially sufficient
Otti predicted an improvement in Abia IGR in the month ahead especially with the achievements of his administration which, he said had boosted public confidence in Government.
Speaking at the retreat, Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Mike Akpara, said there was need to change the narrative, adding that government must do things differently through the generation of enormous IGR.
He said that the Government would not tax people unduly but based on things government promised the people.
The Commissioner urged everyone to work hard to improve the state’s IGR for more developments.
He said that Government targets to reduce the debt burden of the state and put on ground, more identifiable developments.
