Cause for IGR boost in Rivers 2025 budget: Fund recovery or economic expansion?

Rivers, a state that was used to N100bn to N120bn per year as internally generated revenue (IGR) is sure to have grossed about N300bn in 2024. The state is now expecting a minimum of N264bn in 2025.

The governor, Sim Fubara, said in 2024, the state recorded N100bn in IGR above the expected N231bn estimated IGR for the year.

Many are wondering whether this boost is as a result of prudent accounting (transparency in accounting for internal revenue) or as a result of expansion of the economy of the state.

Many will not go with the suggestion of economic expansion in the state. This is because nobody has seen any new number of businesses that have sprung up in the state in past one year.

It may then mean that the former may be the reason. For a state that was struggling with N120bn per year to record N300bn, it means a significant factor was at play. Many thus recalled the period in 2024 when the governor shouted that he found more than doubling of the IGR from average N11bn to N28bn.

This disclosure came at the heat of the political crisis between Gov Fubara and his erstwhile godfather now FCT Minister. Many said the former administration must have shelled most of the IGR into private accounts.

In the 2025 budget, the governor returned to one big financial dream of the state when Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi was in charge: making IGR at least 50% of total budget. Now, Fubara is talking of not less than 35% IG contribution to budget.

The governor said by November 2024, the state got N282.5bn which he said was over N51bn more than the N231bn expected in the year (2024).

The governor exclaimed: “Mr Speaker, sir! It is worthy of note that this is the first time the State Government would record a historic N100 billion increase in IGR in a succeeding year.

“Most interestingly, the phenomenal increase was realised without raising or imposing new taxes, which underscores the success of our administration’s commitment to enhancing domestic resource mobilisation as the primary source for funding the government’s expenditures and the measures we have put in place to drive this vision.

“The organic increases in our internally generated revenue also show that the State’s domestic economy is on the right path to real and sustainable growth and that it is only a matter of time before we realise our abiding drive for economic self-reliance and sustainability.”

A strange calculation now emanated from the governor when he said he expects N264.4bn in 2025 whereas he saw about N300bn in 2024.

Many have joined to calculate, seeing that with N28bn per month as in 2024, the state is going to make N336bn in 2025. Thus, how Gov Fubara arrived at N22bn per month or N264.4bn for 2025 remains a mystery. What is important however is that the IGR of Rivers State is second only to Lagos. This is seen as a big development and yet it can be made better.