Like opposition party, Nigerian govt charges states to be innovative

The Federal Government has challenged commissioners of budget and economic planning in the states of the federation to device alternative means of revenue generation for the development of the economy.

The Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Clem Agba, threw the challenge at a forum of commissioners of budget and economic planning in Abuja on Thursday.

According to a statement from the ministry, Agba urged the commissioners to come up with innovative solutions to the revenue challenges.

He said: “We are not putting sufficient money in the right sectors of our economy.

“Come up with strategies on how best Nigeria can properly align the key variables of the quality of our infrastructure, policies and institutions to ensure sustainable economic diversification as the nation commences discussions on the formation of a new long-term national development plan.”

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The minister also decried the nation’s continuous dependence on oil as its major source of revenue.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that the National Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, had also urged governors elected on the platform of the party to expand their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base to solve the myriad of problems they were faced with.

He advised the governors to think outside the box and explore other sources of revenue instead of depending on federal allocations and also called for prudent management of state resources.

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