CLAIM: Ondo government claims to be among the top 10 internal revenue generating states in Nigeria.
TRUE: Data from the first half of this year shows that Ondo state is among the top 10 states in terms of revenue generation and growth rate.
Full Text:
Last week Friday, the Ondo State government took to Twitter to applaud its “performance”. According to the tweet, Ondo state is rated among the top ten states in the country with respect to revenue growth rate.
The said tweet generated responses from people who didn’t believe the report but questioned how that claim was arrived at.
Verification:
We reviewed data available for 2019 in the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for verification. It revealed that within the first half of the year, 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory generated the sum of N691.11bn as internally generated revenue.
Breakdown of States Total IGR (TAX+MDA REV)
# | State | Revenue (₦) | # | State | Revenue (₦) |
1 | Lagos | 205,163,386,767.06 | 19 | Plateau | 9,413,952,271.51 |
2 | Rivers | 75,974,536,695.99 | 20 | Niger | 9,126,750,293.89 |
3 | FCT | 38,570,894,950.27 | 21 | Bauchi | 8,268,708,138.19 |
4 | Delta | 36,390,689,921.88 | 22 | Abia | 7,912,596,332.05 |
5 | Ogun | 29,583,479,438.84 | 23 | Zamfara | 7,210,062,254.23 |
6 | Kaduna | 22,401,973,458.00 | 24 | Kogi | 6,683,808,064.70 |
7 | Akwa Ibom | 20,464,607,233.41 | 25 | Anambra | 6,073,241,006.13 |
8 | Ondo | 19,001,563,646.74 | 26 | Bayelsa | 5,875,518,818.67 |
9 | Kano | 18,564,546,104.36 | 27 | Jigawa | 5,369,753,095.83 |
10 | Cross River | 16,731,425,493.77 | 28 | Ebonyi | 5,140,599,994.92 |
11 | Kwara | 16,090,373,542.93 | 29 | Ekiti | 5,054,605,377.85 |
12 | Edo | 15,441,748,874.50 | 30 | Adamawa | 5,014,807,850.67 |
13 | Oyo | 14,060,685,978.15 | 31 | Nasarawa | 4,842,313,122.18 |
14 | Benue | 12,131,771,966.24 | 32 | Katsina | 4,807,071,081.00 |
15 | Sokoto | 12,077,025,746.68 | 33 | Kebbi | 4,728,501,342.76 |
16 | Enugu | 10,699,049,784.00 | 34 | Borno | 3,917,848,074.57 |
17 | Imo | 10,550,388,151.30 | 35 | Taraba | 3,272,217,539.86 |
18 | Osun | 10,205,102,028.94 | 36 | Yobe | 2,206,307,291.27 |
37 | Gombe | 2,087,431,130.42 |
A look at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) latest report indicates that Ondo lies 8th in terms of revenue generation with a total IGR of N19,001,563,646.74; and therefore, among the top 10 states in Nigeria.
According to NBS, the States’ IGR rose in the first half of 2019 to N691.1 billion, showing an increase when compared to the N596.9 billion recorded in the second half of 2018; and N453.83 billion in the half year of 2017.
So, a year-on-year estimate from the first half of 2018 to the first half of 2019, places Ondo amongst the top ten states with respect to growth rate; 5th to be exact.
Breakdown of States’ Growth Rate
# | State | Growth rate (%) | # | State | Growth rate (%) |
1 | Zamfara | 171.34 | 19 | Yobe | 36.14 |
2 | Kebbi | 132.44 | 20 | Borno | 28.01 |
3 | Osun | 113.77 | 21 | Nasarawa | 27.21 |
4 | Sokoto | 113.75 | 22 | Taraba | 25.22 |
5 | Ondo | 101.77 | 23 | Rivers | 24.74 |
6 | Benue | 100.07 | 24 | Kogi | 22.69 |
7 | Niger | 87.77 | 25 | Delta | 22.13 |
8 | Ekiti | 84.14 | 26 | Oyo | 13.58 |
9 | Bauchi | 79.50 | 27 | Abia | 13.41 |
10 | Akwa Ibom | 72.95 | 28 | Jigawa | 11.83 |
11 | Cross River | 71.47 | 29 | Edo | 11.83 |
12 | Ebonyi | 68.75 | 30 | FCT | 9.46 |
13 | Kwara | 60.21 | 31 | Lagos | 4.46 |
14 | Adamawa | 57.87 | 32 | Kano | 0.05 |
15 | Imo | 50.46 | 33 | Gombe | -12.83 |
16 | Plateau | 57.87 | 34 | Enugu | -13.00 |
17 | Kaduna | 39.97 | 35 | Anambra | -14.07 |
18 | Katsina | 37.86 | 36 | Bayelsa | -14.53 |
37 | Ogun | -30.42 |
Interestingly, if you use the second half of 2018 to compare with the first half of 2019, Ondo would not fair so well. However, this is not an accurate comparison; and certainly not year on year. Seeing as the year is not over, a more accurate estimate would be the first half of 2018 and the first half of 2019. We will just have to wait and see how it fares come next year…
What is progress really… ?
Regardless, a state’s internal growth rate (IGR) is actually not the most accurate estimate for judging “progress” so to speak. According to BudgIT, Ondo’s IGR dropped from N11.72bn in 2014, then to N10.93bn in 2017; and currently over N19bn. However, this constant fluctuation and the fact that Ondo’s IGR accounts for only a small percentage of its total earnings, brings the matter of “progress” to light. For instance in 2017, Ondo’s IGR accounted for only 19.23% of its total revenue.
More so, states should prioritize the utilization of acquired revenue for project implementation, rather than just celebrating the generation of such funds.
Conclusion:
Ondo state is amongst the top ten states with respect to growth rate and internally generated revenue; a noble feat to be celebrated. Regardless, more emphasis should be given on project implementation and living standards within a state; given the fluctuating nature of IGR’s (based on a host of factors) as well as the percentage it makes up of a state’s total revenue.
This fact-check was done by a Dubawa Fact-checking Fellow in collaboration with The News Agency of Nigeria, a news reporting agency owned and run by the Federal Government of Nigeria with substantial reach and mobility across the 36 states of the country.