The Cross River State Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Michael Odere, says the state has recorded its highest tax revenue growth in recent years, with Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) rising to ₦60.9 billion in 2026.
Speaking in an interview in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, South-south Nigeria, Odere attributed the increase to tax automation, tighter expenditure controls and broader financial reforms introduced by the present administration.
According to him, “revenue collection has grown steadily from an average of ₦1.9 billion monthly between June 2020 and May 2023 to ₦5.1 billion monthly in 2026.”
“In June 2020 to May 2023, our actual revenue was ₦22.8 billion, giving us a monthly average of ₦1.9 billion. In June 2023 to May 2024, we generated ₦36.3 billion, while from June 2024 to May 2025, we recorded ₦53.7 billion,” Odere said.
He continued: “In 2026, local revenues grew to ₦60.9 billion, giving us an average of ₦5.1 billion monthly. So you can see that there is considerable growth.”
Odere explained that the administration discovered that the major challenge was not taxpayers’ unwillingness to pay, but leakages associated with manual collection systems.
The Commissioner said, “one of the biggest problems for revenue was not that our people were unwilling to pay taxes, but that there were a lot of loopholes and tax leakages stemming from manual collection of taxes.”
He stated that the government automated its revenue and reporting processes and moved from a cash-based accounting system to accrual accounting in line with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
The Commissioner also disclosed that the reforms had attracted support from the World Bank, which partnered with the state on revenue strengthening, debt management and expenditure control across ministries, departments, and agencies.
“The fact that they could rely on us and saw that we could be transparent financially and operationally was why they came in,” he said.
On debt management, Odere said the state had paid about ₦164 billion in domestic debt obligations between 2023 and 2025 and reduced its foreign debt exposure by 19.6 million dollars in principal repayments.
He noted that the administration had also paid over ₦31 billion in pensions and gratuities, cleared outstanding obligations dating back to 2002, settled ₦16.5 billion owed to contractors and paid more than ₦5 billion in judgment debts.
Odere further said that Cross River recovered over ₦59 billion from the Federal Government arising from previous miscalculations and other outstanding claims.
He maintained that the reforms were aimed at improving the state’s financial credibility, attracting investors, and creating a more sustainable revenue base for development.
According to him, the government has also invested heavily in infrastructure rehabilitation, environmental restoration, and the reconstruction of roads and public buildings across the state.
