Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has predicted that the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) may surpass the N600 billion target set for 2025.
Mbah also expressed optimism that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will overcome its present challenges and become competitive again.

The governor spoke during an interactive session with members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), on the side-lines of the Guild’s Biennial Convention held in the state at the weekend.

He disclosed that Enugu State recorded N144 billion IGR in 2024.

According to Mbah, the state does not have to rely on third-party funding to finance its many on-going infrastructure projects.
He explained that his administration had expanded the tax net, which led to the significant increase in IGR.

Mbah stated, “Before we came in, the highest we did as a state was about N25 billion in terms of our IGR annually.

“This year, our IGR projection is about N600 billion and we are likely going to achieve, if not exceed that figure. At some point, there was the misconception that we increased the tax rate, but that was not true.

“What we simply did was to expand the tax base. We brought in those who were not captured and who were not in the tax net, into the net.

“We also ensured that our processes were automated by eliminating collections through manual or cash and ensured that payments are done on electronic or digital platforms directly into the government accounts.

“So, by just largely stopping the leakages and expanding the tax net, we are able to grow our tax base by over 200-fold, from N25 billion to about N571 billion that we are expecting this year.”

He stressed that the ongoing infrastructure projects and programmes across the state were beyond bricks and mortar, saying that his administration is also focused on building the capacity of civil servants who would manage the system.

He stated, “We have a programme, for instance, that ensures that all our civil servants have access to digital training and making sure that our processes are instituted. In fact, all the MDAs, over 111 of them in Enugu, are included in our e-governance platform.”