FG Raises Alarm, discloses 5 States that are Insolvent

The Federal Government on Monday raised the alarm that Katsina, Kebbi, Borno, Bayelsa and Taraba States have become insolvent as they have an “extremely poor IGR”.

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) Chairman, Mr Elias Mbam, who raised the concerns noted that the Federation Account was currently over stressed by the unending demands of the three tiers of government, urging states to evolve creative ways of fattening their IGR if the strain on the federal purse is to reduce.

Mbam gave the advice while receiving an Annual States Viability Index (ASVI) from the Editor-in-Chief of the Economic Confidential, Mr. Yushau A. Shuaib in his office in Abuja.

On the flip side, Rivers, Kaduna, Enugu, Kwara, Zamfara posted impressive IGR in 2019.

Mbam said: “the annual ASVI report apart from providing a good source of information to the general public also has been identified as a source of information that would drive RMAFC on its mandate to encourage states of the federation to improve their Internally Generated Revenue.

“I have come to realize that Economic Confidential has become a household name and its reports that are factual and authoritative should be useful, especially in guiding states whose revenues keep dwindling so that they can improve.”

Speaking on the report, the Editor-in-Chief of the Economic Confidential, Mr. Yushau Shuaib said the ASVI report assessed and ranked States by their annual IGR in comparison to their receipts from the Federation Account Allocation.

He added that the report has shown that “without the monthly disbursement from the Federation Account, many states cannot survive as the indices showed that seven States are insolvent due to very poor IGR that were far below 10% of their receipts from the Federation Account”.

Mr. Shuaib stated that apart from Lagos and Ogun States that ranked high in the revenue generation in 2019, more states have recorded impressive and encouraging IGR in 2019 compared to 2018.

The report shows that only Rivers, Kaduna, Enugu, Kwara and Zamfara States did well with regards to impressive revenue generation in 2019 compared to their IGR in the previous year 2018 by improving more than 10%.