Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has proffered solutions which he believes that, if taken, would help Nigerian states overcome the current economic crunch.
In a paper titled, “Survival of the states and beyond — Edo State perspective”, Oshiomhole urged his fellow governors to plug revenue leakages in order to boost their Internally Generated Revenue.
Oshiomhole issued the counsel to Nigerian governors last week, during the economic retreat organised by the National Economic Council, in Abuja.
He noted that state governors must strengthen all institutions involved in tax administration in order to strengthen IGR.
He urged his colleagues to set proper targets and strictly monitor performance as well as expanding the taxpayers’ base while stressing the importance of implementing the Treasury Single Account.
“IGR can be enhanced by aggressively expanding the taxpayers’ base through comprehensive enumeration and registration using TIN system.”
“We must strengthen expenditure management processes by centralising the approving authority for all recurrent expenditure; automating payroll processing and salary disbursement.”
“All capital expenditure projects must have cash backing before contract award. All major projects must meet cost-benefit benchmark. We must implement cash budget system for monthly expenditure.”
The governor further stated that in the medium term, state governments should continuously improve tax administration to ensure wider coverage, encourage voluntary compliance and reduce cost of collection as well as enhance yield.
Oshiomhole also advised Nigerian governors to establish partnership with appropriate international development organisations with a view to accessing funds and technical support for development programmes.
The Edo state governor added that the economy of Nigerian states can be boosted through development of infrastructure and human capacity to encourage investment in economic activities premised on the state’s endowment factors with comparative advantage.
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