By PHILIP YATAI

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has mobilised its revenue generating agencies to improve its Internally Generating Revenue (IGR) to N250 billion a month.

Mr Chinedum Elechi, Mandate Secretary Economic Planning, Revenue Generation and Public Private Partnership (EPRGPP) Secretariat, FCTA, stated this in Abuja on Friday.

Elechi told journalists after a meeting with revenue generating agencies that FCTA had the capacity to generate from N200 billion to N250 billion a month as IGR.

“We think that FCTA has the capacity to do N250 billion a month, on a good day and that is the sort of target we are looking at.

“We can even do N300 billion a month in some good periods. So that is what we want to work out.

“However, in trying to grow revenue, it will also have a human face, because we are going to be dealing with issues of multiple taxation, so things are going to be streamlined.

“We are going to make sure that taxation has a human face,” he said.

Elechi stressed the need for the citizens to perform their civic duty of paying their taxes as at when due.

He explained that the meeting was to find ways to improve IGR in FCT, which he said was pivotal to the aspiration of making Abuja one of the developed capital cities of the world.

Elechi said that the meeting was necessary for all the revenue generating agencies to be on the same page and work as a team towards tapping the full revenue potential in the FCT.

Describing the meeting as “exploratory”, the secretary stressed the need to lay down some strategies on how to improve IGR.

He added that oil revenue was no longer sustainable, stressing, “for us in the FCT, the fall back is the IGR, and we have to work together to make a difference.

“The goal is not just to harness what we have but also to improve it. This means that the more we grow our revenue, the better it will be for all of us.

“The message is that every person in this room has a responsibility to generate more revenues for the FCTA.”

Elechi reminded the revenue generating agencies that their mandate based on the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu was to grow IGR.

He assured the agencies that the secretariat would find ways to incentivise performance by agreeing on certain percentages that would go to agencies based on what they generated.

“We have all agreed that we are going to work in synergy for the purpose of growing the IGR of the FCT.

“This is key because revenue is everything. Without revenue, without income, FCTA will not be able to deal with development issues that require funds.

“The Minister of the FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike has made it clear that he is prepared to run the FCTA with IGR and whatever comes from the federation account will be extra,” he said.

On blocking revenue leakages, the secretary said that the agencies would work together in synergy to ensure that all revenue due to FCTA goes to the FCTA.

Earlier, the Director, Administration and Finance, EPRGPP, Mr Prospect Ibe, explained that the objective of the meeting was to interact, document challenges and suggest ways forward.

The goal, according to him, was to enable FCTA to achieve its mandate.

During the interactive session, Dr Babagana Adams, Director, Department of Outdoor Advertisement and Signage, said that the department generated N3 billion in three years and expressed commitment to improve revenue generation.

Also, Alhaji Dan Maradin, Head of Commerce, FCT Water Board, said it had increased its revenues from an average of N1.5 billion annually to over N2 billion.

“We were hovering around N150 million to over N300 million monthly,” he said.

On his part, Alhaji Malik Tukur, Director, FCT Inland Revenue Service, stressed the need for inter-agency collaboration as against working in silos.

Tukur said that FCTA would generate more revenue with strong collaboration among revenue generating agencies. (NAN)

•PHOTO: Mandate Secretary, Mr Chinedum Elechi, Economic Planning, Revenue Generation and Public Private Partnership (EPRGPP) Secretariat, FCTA, in an interview with journalists after the meeting

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