THE Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) earnings of Ondo State has increased by about 300 per cent from the N3.7 billion it recorded in 2009 to N10.5 billion at the end of the 2012 fiscal year.

The state government, is currently itching to increase revenue from internal sources to N20 billion which it expected as IGR in the current fiscal year as reflected in the appropriation bill presented by the governor to the House of Assembly last December.

Governor Mimiko, who disclosed the increment and expressed optimism at further growth through a thorough management system yesterday at Ondo town, said that government was able to record increased IGR because of its determination to make positive change in the lives of the people.

The governor was at the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Ondo where he delivered his keynote address titled “IGR: A Catalyst for Rapid Socio-Economic Development” at the opening ceremony of a 2-Day summit on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the state.

He decried some unwholesome revenue related conducts, which according to him, included revenue leakages and counterfeiting of revenue receipts among others and reiterated his administration’s resolve to boost revenue to enable it meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people in the era of dwindling revenue from federation account.

According to him, “An aggressive regime of income generation must be embarked upon to execute our projects and programmes in accordance with our vision. Our IGR has witnessed yearly incremental growth from N3.7 billion in 2009 to N10.5 billion in 2012. This modest achievement is impressive given the lackluster performance of previous administration in revenue generation.

“Given the fluctuation in the monthly receipts from the federation account, catalyzing these on-going developments will require steady and appreciable revenue growth if we are to deliver on our electoral pledges to our people and complete all the on-going life-changing projects that we have embarked upon.”

Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of the State Cabinet Committee on Revenue Generation and Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Akin Adaramola, decried the apathy of stakeholders to the issue of revenue generation.

He noted that many MDAs were only interested in the expenditure side of the budget, without any thought of how to raise the fund for its execution, adding that if government continues to run without any thought for increased revenue generation in the face of dwindling resources and more challenges, governance would soon run aground.

Adaramola, who described IGR as the only source of revenue under the purview of state government, called for attitudinal change to the issue of revenue generation by placing it on the front burner to elicit the desired attention.