The Director General of the World Trade Organization, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, has urged Governors in Nigeria to invest more in infrastructure, education and basic healthcare.
She has also urged them to endeavour to pay teachers, healthcare workers and pensioners as and when due.
Okonjo-Iweala made the call in Abuja on Monday at the opening of the 2023 induction for Re-elected and newly elected governors with the theme: Governing for Impact (Building Sub-national Governance), organized by the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).
“Your Excellencies, Please watch your debt profiles and keep careful control of expenditure. Even as we invest in infrastructure, education and basic healthcare please endeavour to pay teachers, healthcare workers,” she said.
She also urged Governors to figure out ways to increase internally generated revenue (IGR), saying this should go hand in hand with their share of the federal allocation, which she said is substantial, more transparent, efficient and effective.
The WTO Director General, a former Finance Minister in Nigeria under the Obasanjo’s administration as well as former Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, under the Jonathan’s administration, urged States to publish federation revenue allocation and IGR that accrue to them to earn citizens trust and keep them abreast of their finances.
She said: “We used to publish this information during my time as finance minister under President Obasanjo and Jonathan’s administrations, you must resume this practice so your citizens can have information to your account.”
She also advised them to be careful with the rate of loans they seek, as well as their expenditure profile.
Okonjo-Iweala, stressed that states have a substantial responsibility, noting that only few states are raising internally generated revenue of any significance.
Quoting from an analysis of data from the National Bureau of Statistics, and state-audited financial statements by the Budget, which provides in-depth financial reports on country budgets helping citizens understand where their country’s money goes, 33 states relied on federal transfers for the majority of their revenue, for 13 of those states, the monthly impact allocations accounted for about 70% of revenue.
She said aggregated IGR from the states did rise from N1.2 trillion in 2020 to N1.6 1 trillion in 2021. But this pales in comparison to FAAC allocations to the state of N2.23 trillion in 2020 and 3.16 trillion in 2020.
PIAK
