The Kaduna State Government says that the state is progressing to a stage where it would stop relying on federal allocations to fund its budget.
The State Commissioner and Chairman of the State Budget and Planning Commission, Muhammad Sani stated this at the public hearing held at the state House of Assembly on the 2022 appropriation bill submitted by Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
The commissioner noted that in the next few years, the state government would meet its obligations from the revenue generated internally, adding that whatever comes from the federal allocation would be an addition.
According to him, the state has been boosting its tax collections to about N57bn presently, saying that the feat is being achieved through hard work and partnership with the State Assembly.
He said: “In 2015 when this government came in, the highest that has been achieved was 13bn Naira annually and we are very happy today that we are at N57bn because of the continued support of the State House of Assembly.
“The first law that was passed [by this Assembly] was the consolidated law, that was what opened the doors for rising in internal revenue generation by the State.”
The commissioner further explained that they have been able to move the state from a state that completely relies on federal allocation to one that is nearly becoming self-sustaining.
According to him, at the moment the state government rely only on about 31 per cent allocation from the federal government while some other states rely on 70-80 per cent from the same allocation.
“When the government came in 2015, we decided that we must be able to fund our salaries from the money we realize within, which means that we must be able to take care of salaries and other state’s obligations from within,” he said.
By Gidado,
News Digest