Governor of Nassarawa State, Abdullahi Sule says the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has dramatically increased from N7.1 when he assumed office to N20 billion annually.
Sule stated while giving an account of his four years of stewardship at a media parley on Thursday in Lagos.
He attributed the feat to the business-friendly environment created by his administration, which encouraged the establishment of small and large-scale industries across the state.
He said that the improvement in IGR was unprecedented since the creation of the state in 1996.
He said, hitherto, Nasarawa has been a purely civil service state which depended on the federation accounts, the state was becoming a hub for economic development.
“Before I became governor in 2019, the State was not getting any revenue from industries because there was none,” he said.
“Today I can tell you that the significant amount of our revenue is from the various industries we have attracted, that are operating in different Local Government Areas of the state” he added.
“We have raised the IGR from N7.1 billion to over N20 billion annually and as such, we can now pay salaries of our workers for months even without allocation from the Federal Government,” he said.
The governor listed some of the industries operating in the state including Olam Rice in Doma LGA, Dangote Sugar Refinery in Awe, Flour Mill Nigeria PLC, and Azman Rice farm in Toto as well as Gudi Marbles in Akwanga LGA.
“More than 30 percent of the marbles being sold at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja today is from Nasarawa State,” Sule added.
He pointed out that his administration had constructed so many rural roads to facilitate easy transportation of people and farm produce from rural communities to the markets and urban centers.
“We have also invested hugely in security to ensure that farmers and herders go about their economic activities without any fear of being attacked.
Sule said that his administration’s commitment to the development of the agricultural section had yielded great results.
“We have been rated first in the production of sesame seeds, fifth in rice production, and second in cassava production among others,” he added
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He added that the discovery of oil in the state would further boost the IGR when the exploration begins.
On the welfare of the state’s workforce, Sule said he had implemented over 10 years of outstanding promotions of workers and formalized the appointment of casual workers.
The governor said he had since the inception of his administration, ensured the full payment of workers’ and pensioners’ entitlements and continued to work towards providing a conducive working environment.
He, therefore, called on the people to re-elect him to enable his administration to consolidate achievements recorded so far.
