A group of youths in Enugu North Senatorial Zone of Enugu State has commended the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for the digital approach adopted by his administration to improve on the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state.
The group under the aegis of Osegbe Youths, said there has been a remarkable improvement on the monthly revenue generation in the state since the governor decided to introduce e-payment platforms covering all the local government areas in the state.
The leader of the group, Mr Richard Eke, told newsmen in Nsukka that the positive impact of the digital revolution was that it has reduced the level of fraudulent practices earlier suffered in the collection of various taxes.
Eke, said this has also helped the state government to add a lot of impetus in developmental efforts, adding that the governor had introduced various projects for the benefit of the people.
He also disclosed that the group which membership is drawn from communities in Enugu-Ezike, Igbo-eze North Local Government Area, will be ready to support Ugwuanyi’s re-election bid.
According to him, such support would enable the governor complete other developmental projects and do more for the people.
Describing Ugwuanyi as people-oriented leader, Eke said his group would be reaching out to other youths in different communities to collaborate in giving needed support to the governor for victory during the 2019 governorship election.
He described the N2bn monthly IGR target of the administration for the year as commendable, saying it would not have been possible without the introduction of the e-payment platforms.
The Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Eucharia Offor, had earlier in the year announced the upgrading of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure to bring all revenue generating Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) into one platform.
Offor said this will support a robust and transparent revenue administration to realise our IGR target of N2 billion monthly.
The Finance Commissioner said the introduction of e-payment system had assisted the state to check revenue leakages in the system.
She said, “this is coupled with our determination to aggressively exploit other avenues of revenues generation that had been left untapped in the years past.
“ The state’s IGR increased from N14 billion in 2016 to N18.41 billion as at September 2017, representing about 32 per cent increase.
“This is the result of our adoption of the digitalised and automated e-payment mechanism and Treasury Single Account (TSA), which has helped in no small measure in plugging major avenues of revenue leakages”.
The Director-General of the Career and Youth Development Initiative (CYDI), Henry Ejiofor Asogwa had also commended Governor Ugwuanyi for his development programmes that have helped in job creation and poverty alleviation.
Asogwa said Governor Ugwuanyi has in no small measure demonstrated that wealth creation, poverty eradication, employment generation, and sustainable economic growth and development are achievable.
He added, “Through guided entrepreneurship programmes, provision of soft loans in partnership with Micro Finance Banks (MFBs) as well as targeted capacity building, particularly for micro, small and medium enterprises, the government in three years has proven its commitment to the stimulation of economic activities in Enugu State.
“This is in keeping with his administration’s commitment to embark on programmes that would develop and empower youths with entrepreneurial skills for wealth creation and self-sufficiency”.
