Cross River Targets Over N35bn IGR for 2024 

Bassey Inyang in Calabar 

The Cross River State Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has stated that it has set a target of above N35 bilion as the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the 2024 fiscal year.

The acting Executive Chairman of the service, Prince Edwin Okon, made the announcement in Calabar on Thursday at an interactive and training session on best practices for tax consultants operating in the state.

At the event organised by state lRS, and facilitated by Lani Consulting, Okon said they have already put mechanism in place to ensure that the revenue generation target is met.

Delivering his keynote address entitled ‘Synopsis of CRIRS 2023  Strategy and Achievements’, IRS boss tasked stakeholders and participants to come up with practical solutions towards solving the problems of multiple taxation in order to block loopholes in the state’s revenue generation system.

Okon said: “In 2024 and beyond, the projection is to reduce the number of taxes to a single digit.

“We can do much more if we are able to work together and block loopholes.

“We hope to move the revenue far beyond the N35 billion target and this requires the support of all stakeholders.”

He said that since he was appointmented about five months ago, the state’s IRS has succeeded in raising the IGR of the state from N20 billion in 2022 to about N36 billion as of November 2023.

The IRS chief said that revenue generated by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, (MDAs) has increased from the N3.8 billion since 2012 to N6.8 billion currently.

Okon told the participants that the problems encountered in revenue generation in the state cannot be addressed by lamentations but by actions, and urged them to rise up to the occasion.

The state Commissioner for Commerce, Abigail Duke, while speaking at the event, said the interactive session was timely and commendable.

She said the issue of multiple taxation in the state was worrisome and could be resolved with the cooperation and contributions of the stakeholders in the revenue sector of the state. 

The commissioner said a healthy IGR was very important for the effective running of government activities in the state, and provisions of the needed socioeconomic and social infrastructure for the people.