Expectedly, Lagos Tops IGR List as 35 States Pool N801.95bn in 2016

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

Lagos State topped the list of states with the highest internally generated revenue (IGR) in 2016 as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the figures at state level between January and December last year.

Lagos State recorded the highest figure of N302.42 billion in full year 2016, closely followed by Rivers State with N85.29 billion while Ebonyi State generated the lowest the IGR. The state generated N2.34 billion.

However, Anambra State is yet to report its full year 2016 IGR figures.

A total of N801.95 billion was generated by 35 states that have reported their full year 2016 IGR figure and the revenue was generated across the following types – PAYE, Direct Assessment, Road Taxes, Revenue from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other taxes.

Lagos, which is the fifth largest economy in Africa, had said last year that its plan was to generate N30 billion as its monthly IGR by 2017.

If that happens, it would garner a total of N360 billion this year, over N58 billion recorded last year. The state was generating N24.5 billion monthly as IGR.

About 71 per cent of last year’s budget for the state came from IGR.
Despite its high IGR, Lagos also stands as the most highly indebted state with a domestic debt of over N300 billion.