Okorocha blames leakages for states’ poor funding

The Governor of Imo State, who is also the Chairman of Progressives Governors’ Forum, Chief Rochas Okoracha, has attributed leakages in government as one of the reasons why resources are not enough to service the states.

Okorocha

Also, the Governor of Zamfara State, who is also the Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Yari, said the solution to the declining revenue facing most states lies in the diversification of the nation’s economy

Both governors spoke at the two-day Internally Generated Revenue workshop organised by the NGF in Abuja on Monday.

Okorocha called for the fusion of culture into the nation’s political and economy lives, adding that “democracy which we don’t understand has further deepened our problem.”

He said, “We have enough resources to run the states but there are so much leakages. There are cultural challenges, no nation can grow above its cultural resources. Culture has a lot to do in our politics and economy. Let us develop our land and be less oil- dependent.”

Speaking with journalists shortly after he made his presentation, Okorocha said, “While we are looking at our IGR, which has its challenges, we should also look inwards and start to develop the resources of our land, which is mainly agriculture.

“Now that things have gone the way they have gone and are going the way they are going in this country, we have no other option but to attempt ‘for the very first time’ to develop properly the resources of our land, with emphasis on agriculture, which hitherto had given us over 70 per cent opportunity of employment and had been largely responsible for our foreign exchange.”

Also speaking, Yari said, “Economic diversification is of course vital to ensuring the long-term economic growth we seek.

“We must ensure that we are competitive in the way we diversify our economy, and ensure that the private sector plays a stronger role going forward.

“This event should guide our states to share practical and effective experiences for boosting revenue generation and also provide strategies to kick-start the process.”

Yari, who was represented by the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said Nigeria’s economic challenges could be overcome if the leaders make conscious efforts “to do the right thing at the right time.”

According to the NGF chairman, the IGR peer learning event was coming at a time when the governors were expected to live up to the expectations of the electorate.

He added that NGF members had agreed to adopt the findings of the summit as an important action plan for ensuring a more robust IGR for states.

“We will also expect periodic briefings from our secretariat on the status of these plans and how our states have been able to implement them,” he added.

The governor however noted that the declining revenue in Nigeria had considerably affected the nation’s development plans.

e, who is also the Chairman of Progressives Governors’ Forum, Chief Rochas Okoracha, has attributed leakages in government as one of the reasons why resources are not enough to service the states.

Also, the Governor of Zamfara State, who is also the Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Yari, said the solution to the declining revenue facing most states lies in the diversification of the nation’s economy.

 

Okorocha blames leakages for states’ poor funding