Information minister advises governors to boost IGR to help income

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has advised state governments to engage in activities that will boost their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to augment their income.

Mohammed gave advice at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

The minister’s call is coming against the backdrop of recent complaints by the Governors’ Forum, which called on the federal and state governments as well as the organised labour to agree on a realistic minimum wage for workers in the face of dwindling revenue from oil sales.

According to him, the situation is what it is today because Nigeria has depended on oil for too long.

"What the governors are saying is very simple; they are saying: `we used to receive x amount of money before, but now we are receiving much less’.

"I am told that a state received N55 million in the last Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) distribution.

"Million, million not billion; 55 million. Now, I don’t think the governors are saying they won’t pay N18,000.

"The governors are saying, `we have problems’, and I think solutions will be for the governors and the organised labour to sit down.

"They should not discuss at a distance. They should sit down and discuss, let the governors present their case, let the labour look at it and let them reach an amicable solution.

"But the bottom line, frankly speaking, is that for too long we’ve depended on fuel.

"Oil has crashed from $104 to $38 and if you look at the forecast, it might not go beyond $40 or $42 next year, because with Iran back in the loop and America with the Shell oil and Shell Gas, it will be a miracle if the price jumps up in the next few months.

"However, what states can do also, in my view, is probably to invest more in their tax drive.

"Every state now must understand that it is not helpful to rely solely on the federal revenue.

"States’ Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) must be looked into, but of course I always realise that the more tax people pay the more they also expect from government.

"It is like a chick and egg kind of situation, but the bottom line is that we are living in a very tough time.

"Like I always say, tough times don’t last but tough men do and this government is the tough one.’’

He urged Nigerians to pray for a turning around in the nation’s economy to enable the Federal Government to improve workers’ salaries.