Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has created a new ministry to the 13 his government is currently operating with.

The Governor has also appointed a Commissioner designate for the newly created Ministry.

Mr El-Rufai nominated newly Mrs. Balaraba Aliyu-Inuwa, as the Commissioner designate for the newly created Ministry.

In a statement signed by the governor’s spokesman, Samuel Aruwan, said the appointment of the commissioner designate is subject to confirmation by the Kaduna State House of Assembly.

Until her nomination, Mrs Aliyu-Inuwa was the Special Adviser to the Governor on Rural and Community Development.

This brings the number of ministries in the state to 14.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Government says it is working hard to diversify its sources of revenue rather than depending on federal allocation, as its monthly Internally Generated Revenue has risen from N700 million to 1.628 billion Naira starting from June 2016.

Governor, El-Rufai disclosed this at a sensitisation workshop organised by Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) for the state’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The Governor, who explained that the amount is the highest revenue ever generated in the history of the state, said that his administration would not rest until the set target of 4 billion Naira monthly is achieved.

He explained that the aggressive revenue drive is aimed at making the state financially free from dependence on the federation allocation.

By diversifying its sources of revenue into agriculture and industrialization, the Governor said that Kaduna State can generate enough revenue to carter for its needs beyond depending on federal allocation.

With the decline in oil revenue resulting to poor allocation to the 36 states of the federation, the Kaduna State government said that it is looking inwards to revive some of the dead industries, giving them a lifeline and even granting of tax waivers if need be.

The Board of Internal Revenue Service has also harmonized payment of taxes into a single entity to avoid leakages.

Governor El- Rufai said that beyond creating the enabling environment for businesses to thrive, is the issue of creating jobs for the youths as part of measures to curb restiveness in the state.

Kaduna State is endowed with leading manufacturing centres, specializing in textile production, petroleum refining, vehicle assembly, brewing, food processing, and printing and publishing.

It has over the years been battling with paucity of funds to pay workers’ salaries and execute projects due to poor revenue generation.

Industry players are of the opinion that the Internally Generated Revenue strategies of Kaduna State over the years, suffers from corruption, insufficient basic amenities such as power supply, and complex policies among other challenges.

They say these issues must be addressed first before there can be a sustainable economic growth.

For the Executive Secretary of Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA), Gambo Hamza, whose office is saddled with the responsibility of attracting investors to the state, addressing the issue of power supply remains key to the survival of businesses in the state.

•Pieced together from separate stories by Channels TV. Photo shows Governor El-Rufai.

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