Edo Sets N38 Billion IGR Target for 2022

*Hosts maiden tech conference, partners GIZ, Google, Glo, others

The Edo State Government has expressed optimism of boosting its internally generated revenue (IGR), stating that it plans to raise an average of N38 billion before the end of 2022.

The Chairman of Edo State Internal Revenue Services (EIRS), John Inegbedion, said with ongoing land administration reforms by the government, the state could boost its IGR and drive sustained growth and development.

Inegbedion, in a statement after the weekly Executive Council (EXCO) meeting chaired by Governor Godwin Obaseki, at Benin City, said the EXCO reviewed the state’s revenue performance in the first nine months of 2022.
He said, “We are pushing the number and as of today we are at N26 billion. However, for the last quarter, we are expected to do another N12 billion to close with N38 billion for the year.

“The state is focusing on N6 billion monthly IGR to keep the state afloat and most of the revenues will be coming from land because land is our oil in Edo State.
“The revenue transaction will be coming from land-related matters and we will be putting in place all the necessary framework and laws to ensure we maximise all available tax collectible in our land administration.”

On her part, the Commissioner for Physical Planning, Housing, Urban and Regional Development, Isoken Omo said the state was exploring opportunities to drive the state’s revenue.

Omo noted: “We will look at a unified zoning system across the state, which will be location-based and will help in monitoring all land transactions. We must ensure that all our land transactions are duly registered with relevant land agencies.

“We will not allow land transactions to go outside the knowledge of the government and monitoring strategies will be put in place and it will not allow development without government approval. It will allow what you are building to match with what we are developing in our master plan.”

She added, “We have taken over a portion for our new town development which is a planned town to take away the pressure from the city. We have taken possession of part A of this town, B, C and E are within this new town development as we advise those in these portions to stop development and clear with the Ministry before they continue development.”

Meanwhile, the Edo State government through the state’s skills development agency, Edojobs, is set to host the maiden Edo Innovates Tech Conference (#EITC2022), with the theme, “Innovation, Solutions and Talent; Driving the Economies of the Future.”

The conference is being organised in partnership with the German Government and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (also known as GIZ), Google Developers Group, Globacom Limited and Songhai Labs.

The conference would be held at the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub and Sound Stage in Benin City, Edo State, from November 29th to December 3, 2022.
According to the organisers, registration to attend the #EITC2022 is currently ongoing on the official website.

Obaseki is the host of the five-day event, which would feature panel discussions with industry experts; breakout training sessions; hackathons; start-up exhibition; networking; virtual tech job fair and other exciting activities.

The state government has had a keen focus for technology and innovation, which led to the establishment of Edo Innovates in 2018, where over 33,000 youths have undergone training in different areas of data science, artificial intelligence and cloud computing as well as the setting up of Edo Tech Park, where not less than 15,000 software engineers are being trained.