Lagos, Rivers, Delta, Edo, and Akwa Ibom States recorded the highest internally generated revenue (IGR) in three years spanning 2010 to 2012.

Data made available by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Joint Tax Board (JTB) showed that   Lagos dominated the other 35 states, raking in a total of N607.7 billion in three years.  Rivers followed with N173.1 billion, while Delta realised N106.4 billion. Edo raked in N53.53 billion, just as Akwa Ibom made N35.6 billion.

On the other hand, Jigawa,   Zamfara,   Nasarawa, Borno and Taraba States dominated the bottom of the table having collected the lowest IGR among the 36 states of the federation.
Jigawa recorded only N2.725 billion, while Zamfara accounted for N6.374 billion.  Nasarawa, Borno, Taraba generated N5.982 billion, N6.83 billion and N7.571 billion respectively.

The IGR was realised from Pay-As-You- Earn (PAYE), direct assessment, road taxes and other revenue with PAYE accounting for the highest amount.

A breakdown of the Lagos IGR in three years showed that the state recorded N185.9 billion in 2010, which increased to N202.76 billion in 2011 and rose further to N219.2 billion in 2012.

Of the N219.2 billion in 2012, Lagos realised the highest revenue of   N172.44 billion from workers through the PAYE. A total of   N4.36 billion came from road taxes, N1.89 billion from direct assessment of companies doing business while N40.513 billion was from other revenue sources.

Lagos  State realised  about N120.25 billion from PAYE in 2011; N7.97 billion from direct assessment, and N74.54 billion from other sources, while N104.681 billion came from PAYE in 2010; N7.51 billion from direct sources, and N73.704 billion from other sources.

Rivers State, which came second on the table, realised about N49.59 billion in 2010; N57.19 billion in 2011 and N66.28 billion in 2012.  The state raked in N55.1 billion through PAYE in 2012; N485.9 million through road taxes; N22.075 million through direct tax assessment and N10.668 million through other revenue sources during the year.

Delta State realised N106.4 billion within the three years under review. It realised N26.1 billion in 2010, N34.75 billion in 2011 and N45.57 billion on 2012. PAYE fetched Delta State  over N42.565 billion in 2012. Also, N244.195million was realised from road taxes,   N123.4million from direct assessment, while N2.635billion came from other sources.

Edo State realised N10.651 billion in 2010, which increased to N14.764 billion in 2011 and to N18.88 billion in 2012. Similarly, Akwa Ibom raked in N10.133 billion in 2010, N11.678 billion in 2011 and N13.517 billion in 2012.

However, Jigawa State, which recorded the least amount of N2.725 billion, realised N1.241 billion in 2010 and N1.482 billion in 2011, but no information was provided in respect of 2012.

Yobe and   Borno, which are also among the states with the worst record in terms of IGR, have been suffering from terrorist attacks by Boko Haram. This development made the federal government to declare a state of emergency in the two states, along with Adamawa State last May and to further renew the emergency rule after the expiration of the six-month period.

While a conducive business environment accelerates the growth of IGR, most of the northern states have not enjoyed peace that can guarantee such a friendly business environment. Many companies have reduced their business activities in many of the states that are targets of Boko Haram attacks.