The Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mrs Ifueko Omogui-Okauru, has urged states in the South-East zone to fashion out strategies that would ensure optimal Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) collection. She gave the advice in a message to the ‘‘South-East Economic Forum’’ organised in Enugu by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

“The South-East states have great prospects and potential to generate higher revenue given the abundance of human and material resources around them.

In most of the states, there are several moribund industries and organisations, which can be revived to create revenue for citizens who will in turn pay taxes,’’she said. Omogui-Okauru, who was represented by the Deputy Director, FIRS, Eastern Regional Office, Mr Peter Igwe, decried the high dependency ratio on the federal allocations by most states and local governments.

“Until a state or local government can achieve a positive balance between IGR and federal allocation, it will remain over dependent on a source of revenue which is outside its control and subject to external control,’’ she said.

The chairman attributed peculiar challenges to the growth of IGR in the zone to insecurity, non-remittance of taxes to state boards of internal revenue, the lack of infrastructure, a lack of political will and logistics.

The representatives of the South-East governments in their goodwill messages commended the DFID for organising the forum which they said, would go a long way in helping them boost their IGR. Prof. Chinyere Okunna, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning in Anambra, said that the state needed to enhance its IGR because they received low allocation from the Federal Government. Mr Ben Nwogo, the Permanent Secretary, Ebonyi Ministry of Finance, promised that the state would utilise the gains of the workshop in improving its IGR.