Ekiti @ 30: Over ₦50 billion annual IGR, pays workers' salaries

The Ekiti State Government on Wednesday disclosed that the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) rose significantly from about ₦8 billion in 2020 to more than ₦50 billion annually in 2025, saying it’s enough to pay workers’ salaries.

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The government disclosed this at a public hearing organised by the Ekiti State House of Assembly as part of activities marking the state’s 30th anniversary.

The public hearing, with the theme, “Ekiti at 30: Reflecting on Our Journey, Charting Our Future,” brought together former political office holders, lawmakers, technocrats, academics, traditional stakeholders and other citizens to assess the state’s journey since its creation in 1996 and chart a roadmap for its development over the next three decades.

The military administration of late Sani Abacha created the state on 1 October, 1996.

The Commissioner for Finance, Akin Oyebode, said Ekiti had experienced significant economic growth over the years, particularly through efforts to diversify its economic base.

Mr Oyebode said the state’s dependence on agriculture declined from about 80 per cent in 2005 to 40 per cent in 2017, reflecting gradual economic diversification.

He also said the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) rose significantly from about N8 billion in 2020 to more than N50 billion annually in 2025.

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According to him, the growth in IGR has enabled the state government to finance its monthly salary bill from internally generated revenue. Still, he stressed that the government’s next objective should be to increase the revenue base sufficiently to cover the state’s entire recurrent expenditure.

Mr Oyebode said such a development would free federal allocations received through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for investment in capital projects and other developmental programmes.

“Ekiti’s internal revenue now covers our monthly salaries, but we must move to the next frontier where the IGR covers all the recurrent expenditure. This will mean that FAAC revenue can go solely to investment and capital projects, which will have positive impacts on the people.

“I must add that over the last four years, the clear vision and shared prosperity agenda of Governor Biodun Oyebanji across all sectors, coupled with the reforms of President Bola Tinubu, have enabled states to have more funds and resources for developmental projects,” he said.

A former governor of the state, Segun Oni, who congratulated the House of Assembly and the people of Ekiti on the anniversary, said the state has achieved considerable stability and growth in its three decades of existence.

Mr Oni urged the people to support Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration and help promote the state’s ideals and development aspirations.

The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Adeoye Aribasoye, said the public hearing was convened to critically interrogate the state’s 30-year journey, identify the challenges confronting it, and generate practical, actionable measures for its future development.

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Mr Aribasoye said the recommendations and resolutions generated from the exercise would form part of the legislative agenda of the Seventh Assembly and provide useful guidance for future legislatures in their efforts to place Ekiti firmly on the path of sustainable development and prosperity.

Delivering the keynote address, lawyer and philanthropist Tope Adebayo said the ultimate measure of Ekiti’s development should not merely be the number of successful people produced by the state, but the extent to which more citizens are given opportunities to succeed.

Mr Adebayo said Ekiti had laid important foundations over the past three decades. Still, he stressed that the present generation must strengthen those foundations and build an economy that can generate sustainable opportunities for generations yet unborn.

An elder statesman and the first Commissioner for Finance in Ekiti State, Afolabi Ogunlayi, recalled the struggle that culminated in the state’s creation in 1996.

He said the alleged marginalisation of the Ekiti people in the old Ondo State provided the platform for the agitation to create Ekiti State.