Benue boosts IGR from ₦700 m to ₦3 bn, targets ₦80 bn.

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

Benue State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Michael Oglegba, announced that the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has risen from roughly ₦700 million per month to more than ₦3 billion under Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration.

During a briefing that highlighted the government’s revenue‑generation achievements and economic reforms, Oglegba revealed that the administration now aims for an annual IGR of ₦80 billion.

He explained that monthly revenue has steadily increased since the current administration took office. “When we came on board, the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, of the state used to hover around ₦700 million and ₦800 million monthly. We grew it to about ₦1.5 billion and then to ₦2 billion,” he said.

Oglegba noted that the administration set a target last year to reach ₦3 billion monthly, a goal that has now been surpassed. “At the beginning of last year, I said the dream is to drive IGR to ₦3 billion. It was a dream, today we have hit and exceeded ₦3 billion monthly. So we have reached that landmark but it is still far from what we want,” he stated.

The commissioner said the 2026 budget projects an IGR target of ₦80 billion, an increase of more than ₦50 billion from the current annual revenue of about ₦30 billion. “Today, this year the target is ₦80 billion in the budget. So we are moving from an actual of ₦30 billion to ₦80 billion. An increase of ₦50 billion, more than a hundred percent. It is a tall target,” he added.

He attributed the optimism to expected gains from a new tax law, which he said would strengthen revenue generation. “The way we look at it is that the new tax law that is coming, we will harness the gains of the new law and then leapfrog into our desired place with the IGR,” he said.

Despite surpassing the ₦3 billion monthly mark, Oglegba said the figure remains insufficient to meet the state’s development goals. “So even at ₦3 billion monthly it is still a huge shortfall on where we wanted to be. So I must hit ₦5 billion to ₦6 billion monthly to be comfortable. So it is still work in progress,” he said.

He also explained that recent tax reforms have impacted traditional revenue sources, particularly Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Direct Assessment taxes. “You know that PAYE has taken a hit. People who earn less than ₦1.2 million a year are out of the PAYE net. So PAYE has taken a hit. Direct Assessment, which is small small business outlets, has also taken a hit. So we are turning to other sources,” he stated.

The commissioner praised Governor Hyacinth Alia for what he described as visionary and purposeful leadership, noting that the governor’s achievements in less than three years have set a benchmark for other states.

He urged the people of Benue State to continue supporting the administration so it can deliver more dividends of democracy to the masses.

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