Niger targets N1.5bn monthly revenue

The Niger state board of internal revenue says it is targeting an income of N1.5 billion monthly.

In 2020, the state recorded N10.52 billion as IGR for the year.

Speaking with reporters in Abuja on Saturday, Mohammed Madami Etsu, chairman of the board, said they are putting measures in place to block leakages in the system.

Etsu said the board had adopted an integrated tax administration system (ITAS) through technology deployment in tax collection, adding Minna and Suleja are already pilot towns for the project.

The revenue board chairman, who was appointed by Abubakar Sani Bello, Niger governor, in April, said the agency had increased the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) from N700 million to about N1.1 billion.

“With the automation of our tax system, we are expecting considerable changes and improvements in our IGR within three months. We started this in Suleja and Minna as pilot schemes before extending it to other cities,” Etsu said.

“We want to be among the best ten states in terms of internally generated revenue in the country.

“The state was collecting about N700 million monthly before my appointment, but this has increased to N1.1 billion in the month of May due to the restructuring that we have done.

“However, in this month of June, we are targeting N1.5 billion, and we hope to subsequently maintain this amount monthly for the rest of the year.”