His Excellency Governor Seyi Makinde has described the leap in the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) as captured by the National Bureau of Statistics for the first two quarters of 2021 as a manifestation of his administration’s pragmatic approach to governance since May 2019. The recently published NBS 2021 half-year report on States’ IGR, indicating that Lagos State topped the chart with N267.23bn, followed by FCT (N69.07bn) and Rivers State (N57.32bn) and Oyo State with N25.19bn was seventh gives credence to this. In 2020, the State generated N38.04 billion for the full year.

Governor ‘Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has declared that the ranking of the state as seventh in the States’ Internally Generated Revenue Index by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the first two quarters of 2021 did not come as a surprise, adding that the development was as a result of hardwork.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa provided insights into the IGR leap, said that the administration’s commitment to turning Oyo State into an economic and investment hub, as well as the bold initiatives taken by Governor Makinde to encourage the ease of doing business, transform the agriculture and infrastructure sector, and ensure adequate security, were the pillars behind the State’s leap on the IGR index.

Adisa in his words said that the administration is committed to turning Oyo State into an economic and investment hub. He said the Makinde government has transformed the agriculture and infrastructure sector and ensured adequate security. He also noted that the leap in IGR is the manifestation of his administration’s pragmatic approach to governance since May 2019.

The statement further indicated that the Makinde administration would not relent in its determination to expand the economy of the state and improve its finances. The statement quoted Governor Makinde, as maintaining that his government would continue to be passionate in its approach to expanding the State’s economy, adding that this is in line with his commitment in the Roadmap for Accelerated Development of Oyo State, 2019-2023. He said that agribusiness and infrastructure development to target the economy would continue to receive priority attention.

Commenting on the data as presented in the NBS report, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Prof. Musibau Babatunde, maintained that the ranking of the state on the half-year NBS report reflected the economic realities in the state, where several business-friendly policies of the Governor Makinde administration have resulted in more investments.

He explained that the prompt payment of salaries and pensions, as well as the massive completed and ongoing infrastructure development projects and investments on improving security, which have brought positive improvements to the business environment, have all played huge roles in the State’s improvement on the IGR index.

“You would recall that Oyo State experienced a 42.23 per cent year-on-year growth from N26.75bn in 2019 to N38.04bn in 2020, a growth that was faster than the 8.57 per cent year-on year growth recorded between 2018 and 2019 when its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) grew from N24.64bn to N26.75bn.

“You would also recall that on assuming office, Governor Makinde made it clear that his administration would lay a solid foundation for the economic development of the State and with a solid structure in place, it would progressively improve the finances of the State.

“What you are beginning to see is the practical manifestation of the policies and programmes of the government in the area of economic expansion through agribusiness and infrastructure development.

“The business-friendly policies and the introduction of several incentives to investors by the State government will no doubt culminate into more investments and thereby bring more revenues in the coming months and years. So, residents of the State can look forward to more improvements as we move on.

“In 2018, the half year IGR was N12.379 billion; in 2019, it was N14.060 billion; and in 2020, it moved up to N17.773 billion. For 2021, it is N25.19 billion. Sighting the impressive rise of the IGR in Oyo State.

“The Governor has always made it clear that his administration will not relent in its efforts to expand the economy of the state using the tripartite approach of developing the agribusiness sector to attract large investments, building solid infrastructure that target the economy and executive well-thought-out policies and incentives that will make doing business easy for investors.”