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Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde,has declared that the ranking of the state as seventh in the states’ Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) index by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the first two quarters of 2021 did not come as a surprise, adding that the development is as a result of hard work.
He also said the leap in IGR is the manifestation of his administration’s pragmatic approach to governance since May 2019.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, which provided insights into the IGR leap, said that the administration’s commitment to turning Oyo State into an economic and investment hub, as well as the bold initiatives taken by Makinde to encourage the ease of doing business, transform the agriculture and infrastructure sector, and ensure adequate security, were the pillars behind the state’s leap on the IGR index.
The National Bureau of Statistics had recently published its 2021 half-year report of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of Nigerian States, indicating that Lagos State topped the chart with N267.23bn, followed by FCT with N69, 072,879,664.43 and Rivers State with N57,324,672,372.42.
Oyo State with N25, 191,713,455.75 was in seventh position.
Commenting on the data, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Prof. Musibau Babatunde, maintained that the ranking of the state on the half-year NBS report reflected the economic realities in the state, where several business-friendly policies of the the Makinde administration have resulted in more investments.