Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule says he has been consistent in meeting the salary obligations of civil servants in the state without any hassle.
He said the state was financially solvent and could pay salaries of both local government councils and the state public service before the federal allocations are remitted.
Sule who disclosed this during an interface with journalists in Lafia, said the state’s self-sufficiency status was as a result of its rising Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and other innovations.
He said his administration had been able to raise the annual IGR collection from N7.1 billion to over N20 billion within the last few years, a development which had placed it above some of its peers which depend on federal allocation to survive.
He said the state government had been utilising the existence of industries operating within to increase its revenue drive, adding that the situation had changed the status of the state from that of civil service.
He said among such industries are Olam Rice, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Flour Mill Nigeria PLC , Axman Rice farm and Marble factory.
“Before I became the governor in 2019, Nasarawa State was not getting any revenue from industries because there was none.
“Today I can tell you that the significant amount of our revenue is from the various industries we have attracted, that are operating in different Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
“We have raised the IGR from N7.1 billion to over N20 billion anally and as such we can now pay salaries of our workers for months even without allocation from federal government.
“We have Olam Rice in Doma, Dangote Sugar Refinery in Awe LGA, Flour Mill Nigeria PLC in Toto and Axman Rice farm in Toto LGA and Marble Industry Gudi, Akwanga LGA respectively,” he added.
According to him, more than 30 per cent of the marble being sold at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are from Nasarawa State.
He also said his admission’s investment in the agriculture sector had been yielding results with the springing up of agro-allied industries.
He noted that his administration had also been able to secure the state from activities of criminal elements, adding that the development had encouraged food production across the state.
“We have also invested hugely in security to ensure that farmers and herders go about their economic activities without any fear of being attack.
“Because of the enabling environments created by our administration, the state has been rated first in the production of sesame seeds, fifth in rice production and second in cassava production among others,” he added.
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