· Rivals Lagos for 2025, eyes N700bn
By Sarah NEGEDU
The Federal Capital Territory internally generated revenue, IGR, performance for the year 2023 is said to be encouraging, as the territory alone raked in more revenue than the entire North-West states combined.
According to the last IGR data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, the FCT generated N211.10 billion in IGR in 2023, as against the N206.23 billion generated between the seven north-western states of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
In January of this year, the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, gave indication that his aggressive revenue drive has shot up the monthly earnings of the nation’s capital from about ₦9bn when he assumed office in August 2023 to an average of ₦25bn monthly.
Wike at that time disclosed that the nation’s capital generated over ₦40bn in December 2024, a figure sources in the administration say must have doubled given land reforms undertaken by the minister.
The minister had attributed the growth in revenue to the collection of ground rents and payment of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) by land allottees.
If the minister’s vow is anything to go by, a source in the internal revenue agency of the FCT told this newspaper that the IGR will be in the region of N700 billion for 2025 almost rivalling Lagos state.
The data which was released on October 29, 2024, suggests that despite being the commercial hub of the North, Kano state could only generate N37.38billion in IGR, while neighbouring Jigawa and Katsina states generated N27.54billion and N26.96billion respectfully.
Other north-west states like Kaduna State collected in N62.49billion, while Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi states got N22.16billion, N17.96billion and N11.74billion respectively.
Kebbi featured among the least performing states alongside Taraba and Yobe states, generating a total of N33.8billion between them.
The report tagged Internally Generated Revenue At State Level (2023) states that, “Lagos, FCT, and Rivers states recorded the highest IGR with N815.86 billion, N211.10 billion and N195.41 billion respectively over the reference period.
However, Taraba, Yobe and Kebbi states reported the least revenues with N10.87 billion, N11.19 billion and N11.74 billion respectively.”
The bureau further reports that the 36 states and the FCT generated a total of N2.43 trillion as Internally Generated Revenue in 2023, indicating a growth rate of 26.03 percent from N1.93 trillion recorded in 2022.
A closer look at the IGR map suggests that the territory accounted for 8.70 percent of Nigeria’s total IGR in 2023, second only to Lagos state, which contributed a dominant 33.62percent of the entire IGR.
The rise in the FCT’s revenue generation from N124.37 billion in 2022 to N211.10 billion in 2023, reflects a 69.7 percent surge, driven mostly by improved tax collection, urban development, and greater commercial activity in the nation’s capital.
In contrast, the under-performance of the North-Western states points to issues of narrow tax bases and inadequate infrastructure, resulting in the disparity between the FCT and the region.
The data also revealed a disparity patterns across other geopolitical zones. For instance,
Ogun State, with an IGR of N146.88 billion, out-earned all the five South-East states combined, which generated N142.95 billion.
A breakdown of IGR by the South-East shows that Enugu state generated the most in the region, collecting a tota of N33.86billion in 2024. The commercial state of Anambra generated N33.46billion, while Ebonyi, Abia and Imo states generated N30.84billion, N23.73billion and N21.05billion.
Similarly, Delta State collected N114.09 billion, eclipsing the total for the entire North-East zone’s N104.35 billion.
While Bauchi State raked in N30.58billion, states like Borno, Adamawa, Gombe, Yobe and Taraba, lagged behind with an annual IGR of N19.45billion, N17.07billion, N15.18billion, N11.19billion and N10.87billion.
Another revelation from the last NBS data is that only 20 states generated IGR from their local governments in 2023, totaling N37.05 billion. Lagos led with N10.49 billion, followed by Ebonyi (N6.13 billion) and Kwara (N3.35 billion).
The low figures across the board reflect a long-standing weakness in subnational governance, where local councils remain heavily underfunded and underperforming in terms of revenue generation.
Reacting to the disparities in IGR Performance, social media users ascribed the disparities to the over dependence on federal allocations.
According to a Facebook user, Ifeobu Ernest, “It is simple. They are merely waiting for the National cake to share every Month. Most state Governors are not productive. The few ones generated are going straight into their pockets.”
However, another user, Adeyinka Adebowale, is of the opinion that the capital city should only be compared to capitals of other countries, and not states in Nigeria.
According to him, “FCT is federal capital means (sic) all Nigerian tribes state. We need to compare FCT to another country capital city like Cairo, Accra or Addis Ababa.”
