Jigawa State governor, Umar Namadi, has solicited the support of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) to enhance the state’s internally generated revenue.
The governor made the appeal at the inauguration of the pioneer executive members of the CITN, Jigawa State District, held in Dutse, the state capital.
The governor, who was represented by the state commissioner for finance, Professor Hannatu Sabo Ahmed, said, for decades, over 80 percent of Jigawa annual budget depend on federal allocation, adding that in order to change the narrative, the government made it part of its 12-point agenda to work toward improving the state internally generated revenue.
“In achieving the improvement of the state IGR we are ready to collaborate with all professional bodies such as CITN and other collaborators, to us such collaboration is very critical for attaining our goals in building a sustainable local resilience economy for growth and development,” he said.
In his remarks, the national president of CITN, Mr Samuel Agbeluyi said, “Nigeria is big and very dynamic country, so there is no group or association that can cover it with only having office in Abuja or Lagos, you must go down and establish yourself in every state and in line with its peculiarities “
“I thank God, today we are witnessing the inauguration of Jigawa State District of CITN and its executive. I am optimistic the district will partner with the state and federal agencies in promoting and enhancing tax collection,” the president declared.
In his acceptance speech, the newly elected pioneer chairman of CITN who is also the current accountant-general of the state, Mr Abdullahi Shehu, promised to work with his team to make the Jigawa district one of the most vibrant and result-oriented in the country.
He said, “As we are going to work for the improvement of tax collection, we will also advocate an emphasis on accountability in collections and utilization as enshrined in the CITN constitution and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Other members of the new executive are Nasiru Sabo (deputy chairman), Garba Muhammad Dutse (deputy vice chairman), Hassan Hashim (general secretary), Muhammad Babale (treasurer) and Aliyu Hamza (social and publicity secretary).
