Governor Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna state yesterday said the state needed to generate internally between 60 and 70 per cent of the N124 billion estimated as capital expenditure in the 2014 budget to complete the ongoing projects and initiate new ones for the development of the state and its people.
Speaking yesterday while inaugurating a 12-man Task Force on Revenue Generation led by the Permanent Secretary, in the Ministry of Finance, Malam Sani Aliyu Kudan, Yero said the state was angling to generate adequate revenue for its development without recourse to federally generated revenue soon.
He said: “The task force is saddled with the responsibility to generate the revenue that we require based on the budget estimate to serve the people of the state. It has become necessary to have a task force to realise the revenue to continue the projects and initiate new projects to deliver dividends of democracy for the people of the state.
“We have over N124 billion capital expenditure for which we need to meet 60 to 70 per cent this year; we cannot do this without the required revenue resources to implement and if implemented, it would show significant improvement in the life of the people.
“We have lot of opportunity to raise enough resources. It is our desire for Kaduna state to depend on itself, meet up with our recurrent expenditure, provide social services and enable environment for economic activities without going to the federal allocation.
“This committee would complement ministry of land, inland revenue services and revenue-generating agencies in the state. We must legally bring out other means to raise revenue without creating problem for the people. We may not meet our estimate if we don’t work hard to realise the revenues. Block all loopholes and remit all resources to government account.”
Chairman of the task force assured that they would do their best to ensure that all due revenues were remitted to the state government.
