Dapo Abiodun: We’ve grown economic base of Ogun

Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun, says the state is no longer heavily reliant on the federal government for revenue.

Last week, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) ranked Ogun as the fourth state in the country with the highest internally generated revenue (IGR) in 2023.

Ogun recorded N146.87 billion in IGR. Rivers generated N195.41 billion, FCT pooled N211.10 billion, and Lagos was ranked highest with N815.86 billion.

In a ‘state of states’ performance report by BudgIT, a civic-tech organisation, Ogun was ranked third on Index A.

According to the report, states that rank higher on Index A have comparatively limited dependence on federation allocation. 

In the Index A chart, Rivers state ranks first, followed by Lagos, with Ogun sitting at third. Anambra and Cross River are placed fourth and fifth respectively.

“In contrast, states that rank lower on Index A either need to work harder on growing their Internally Generated Revenue, considering the size of their operating expenses, or work on pruning their operating expenses,” the report reads.

“The lower ranking states also have more work to do to improve their business enabling environment and enhance their domestic resource mobilisation capacity.”

In a statement on Monday, Abiodun said the economy of the state is robust. 

“Our administration has been able to grow the economic base of the state to an enviable position where it no longer needs to rely too much on federal allocations,” he said.

“We commend the recent National Bureau of Statistics report recognizing Ogun State as one of the top states in IGR.

“This achievement underscores our economic resilience and growth, which has allowed us to reduce dependency on federal allocations.

“According to the NBS, Ogun generated more revenue than several states across various zones, affirming our capacity to thrive independently.”