Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has expressed the government’s ambition to raise the state’s monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from the paltry N600million as was the case during the short duration of Emeka Ihedioha to N5billion monthly.
Already, the governor has shown capacity to achieve this within a short period of his first 100 days in office as the administration has raised the state’s IGR to N1.2billion.
In an address in commemoration of his 100 days in office, the governor said he was able to achieve this feat by plugging the loopholes in the state’s salary payment system and fraud in the payment of pensions in the state.
“Our target is to automate the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) process and ensure that all internally generated revenue are paid into a Single Treasury Account (TSA). With these measures in place leakages in internal revenue receipts would have been eradicated, and the stage set for government to net in the Internally Generated Revenue target of N5billion monthly,” said Uzodinma.
It is expected that apart from the blockage of revenue drain pipes in the salary payment system, the state government hopes to harness more income from oil companies, banks and other such organisations operating in the state.
Another success story of the first 100 days in office of the Imo State governor is the upgrade and on-going renovation works on various roads in the Owerri metropolis. Already work is going on at Oparanozie street as well as Chukwuma Nwoha Road, Relief market road, Assumpta/ World Bank road, Assumpta roundabout to Concorde junction, Dick Tiger-Egbu junction road and Dick Tiger Aladinma Lake Nwaebere roads. In his speech, the Governor said that his approach to these roads is different.