Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service has attributed its recent leap in annual revenue from N15.7b to N34.8b to existing peace in the state
Chairman of AKIRS, Mr Okon Okon made the disclosure Friday during the season 2 of the Inter-ministerial Briefing organized by the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Information and Strategy in Uyo.
The Chairman also attributed the leap in IGR to prudent fiscal management and the introduction of technology in the operations of AKIRS.
He gave the breakdown of the IGR in the eight years of Governor Udom Emmanuel to include; N16billion IGR in 2017, N24.2billion in 2018, N30.6billion in 2020, N31.4billion in 2021 and N34.8billion in 2022, adding that the COVID-19 period affected the IGR in 2019.
In his words “In 2019, during the COVID-19 period, Governor Udom Emmanuel out of his magnanimity granted tax exemptions and waivers in sectors of the economy so it would alleviate the pain and difficulties people experienced that time. That is taxation with human flesh, the Udom Emmanuel example.
“He created an enabling environment. Without peace, there is no development; without peace, you cannot grow the economy; without peace, you cannot collect taxes. So the peace that Governor Udom Emmanuel brought about in Akwa Ibom state was one of the drivers of the IGR.
“Akwa Ibom stands tall as one of the states in Nigeria, if not the very first that has created an environment for people to live, eat and relax and for the ease of doing business.
“The next was to exercise prudent fiscal management, managing the funds in a manner that is transparent. This has attracted voluntary compliance from tax payers”.
