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Fidelity Bank generates N300bn in IGR for governments

By on February 16, 2016

Fidelity Bank Plc said it recorded cumulative collections of over N300 billion in internally generated revenue (IGR) for all the three tiers of government over a period of 10 years.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, stated this in a speech he presented at the inaugural edition of the Anambra State IGR Summit held in Awka recently.

According to the Fidelity Bank boss, the bank attained this feat by simply driving efficiency in the revenue collection process, adding that the lender had been positioned to play dominant roles in Nigeria’s Electronic Payments and Services Market.

“We pioneered informal sector IGR collections with our successful deployment of the point of sale (PoS) Terminal Tax Collections in Abia, Imo and Sokoto States,” Okonkwo stated.

This model, he explained, has also been requested for and adopted by other state governments.

“As a bank, we deployed Automated Electronic Motor Vehicle License to Sokoto, Anambra, Abia and Kano States. We also successfully deployed the first electronic collection solutions for Ondo State (IGR), Anambra and Abia State Land Registry Automation Processes,” he added.

Reflecting on the present challenge faced by the country, Okonkwo stressed
the need for all tiers of government to seek alternative sources of revenue generation to meet financial obligations and live up to the expectations of the citizenry.

“We are eagerly looking forward to building a veritable partnership with the Anambra State government to aid its collection of such revenues and help improve its IGR. As a bank, we want the Anambra State government to live up to the expectations of its citizenry,” he added.

In his opening remarks, Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, said the state had set a monthly revenue target of N2.2 billion for the state in 2016.
Pointedly, he expressed confidence in the ability of Fidelity Bank to support the state in its quest to improve its IGR.

Alluding to plans by his administration to deploy specially modified PoS devices across the state, Obiano vowed to attain the revenue target without increasing taxes and promised to sanitise the revenue collection process by weeding out fraudsters who pose as collection agents to fleece tax payers.

“This year, we intend to move our IGR from N1.4 billion where it is currently to about N2.2 billion monthly. We will do this without increasing tax. We will not increase tax but we are going to enhance our method of collection and block the leakages. Most of our taxes have been going into private pockets. This time, I will clean up the system,” Obiano said.

Providing insight into the impact of crude oil slump on the revenue accruable to states from the federal government, the Anambra State governor said; “If I was receiving N100 from the federal government, I now receive N27.”

 

[ThisDay]