The Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, has said that the Treasury Single Account, which he signed into law, had grown the state’s Internally Generated Revenue by 300 per cent in less than four months.
The governor, who spoke in Owerri on Tuesday during Nigeria’s 59th independence anniversary celebration, said unlike the N200m IGR ratio which he met on the ground on assumption of office, the state as of the last day of September, generated N700m.
He said his administration was on a five-year economic blueprint for the rebuilding of the state.
The governor said reforms were going on to improve service delivery in the state.
Ihedioha alleged that his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha, mismanaged the economy of the state.
He said, “As we take stock today, we have cause to thank God for the great progress we have made in nation-building and the abundant human and natural resources that we have been endowed with.
“Nigeria boasts of a very energetic people, dynamic culture, beautiful landscape, bountiful natural resources and a huge swath of rich agricultural fields, among several other endowments.
“There is, indeed, no state where these blessings have been more evident than Imo State.
“I am proud to serve a state blessed with a very dynamic, youthful, educated, hardworking and peaceful people.
“We are a people with great potential, yearning to be harnessed. Our mission as a government, therefore, is to make our state the beacon of hope for the country and, indeed, for the continent.
“To this end, as we celebrate 59 years of liberation from the clutches of colonialism, I enjoin the collective support and sacrifices of our citizens. We are too noble a people to limit ourselves to small aspirations.
“For this reason, we are engaging residents of the state to map out strategies to harness our huge human and economic resources.”
“We will base our growth direction on a development agenda currently being put together, known as Imo Growth and Strategic Development Plan.
“This involves a five-year economic blueprint for our rebuilding process and for restoring Imo to its former glory.
“Accordingly, we have taken the first sure steps by building a strong institutional framework for good governance.
“We have adopted the ethics of due process in all government transactions in keeping with national and global standards.
“Imo State now operates the Treasury Single Account system which is today boosting our Internally Generated Revenues.”
PUNCH.
