State Govts Lose N116bn Tax Revenue In Two Years

Knocks have trailed the loss of N116bn tax revenue by the state governments in Nigeria within a space of two years.

According to the data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, a total of 13 states had their tax revenue dipped by 27.5 per cent, from N423bn they recorded in 2019 to N306bn reported in 2021.

The loss spanned across the six geopolitical zones. Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Abia, Ogun, and Rivers were states from the southern part of Nigeria that recorded this revenue shortfall.

Other northern states that fell within the tax revenue shortfall between 2019 and 2022 were Kano, Sokoto, Yobe, Niger, Benue, and Jigawa states.

The tax revenue generated by Enugu State fell by 27.4 per cent from N21.9bn in 2019 to N15.71bn in 2021.

Also, Akwa Ibom State’s revenue dropped by N3.7bn from N30.9bn in 2019 to N27.2bn in 2021. Bayelsa, on the other hand, suffered a N3.6bn tax revenue shortfall from N16.1bn in 2019 to 12.5bn in 2021.

Meanwhile, Cross River’s revenue from the tax fell by 6.2 per cent to N18bn in 2021 from N19bn in 2019. Abia State lost N2.5bn from N8.97bn in 2019 to N6.5bn in 2021.

Ogun State led by Dapo Abiodun recorded a N15.23bn revenue loss to N36.7bn from N51.9bn two years earlier. The tax revenue of Rivers State had a narrow loss of N176.7 million from N115.91bn in 2019 to N115.73bn in 2022.

Mala Buni-led Yobe State recorded a loss of N127 million revenue, from N7bn in 2019 to N6.1bn in 2019. Sokoto State also recorded a 13.2 per cent depreciation in tax revenue from N17.73bn in 2019 to N15.38bn in 2021.

Abdullah Ganduje-led Kano State lost N7.92bn tax revenue from N31.98bn to N21.06bn between 2019 and 2021 respectively. Jigawa State also had 13.21 per cent reduction to N6.1bn in 2021 from N7bn in 2019.