Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State stated that the state is now generating Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) from industries for the first time since the creation of the state in 1996.
Governor Sule made the disclosure at the media parley to give the stewardship of his first term in office on Thursday in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital.
According to the governor, hitherto, the state has been purely a civil service state which only got resources from the Federation Accounts.
“Before I became the governor in 2019, Nasarawa State was not getting any revenue from industries because there was none but today, I can tell you that the significant amount of our revenue is from the various industries we have attracted, that are operating in different Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
“We have raised the IGR from N7.1 billion to over N20 billion annually and as such we can now pay salaries of our workers for months even without allocation from federal government,” he stated.
“We have Olam Rice in Doma, Dangote Sugar Refinery in Awe LGA, Flour Mill Nigeria PLC in Toto and Axman Rice Farm in Toto LGA and Mabu Industry Gudi, Akwanga LGA respectively. And today more than 30 per cent of the mable being sold at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja today is from Nasarawa State,” Sule further disclosed.
In the agricultural sector, Sule said his administration has constructed so many rural roads that is facilitating the easy transportation of people and farm produce from rural communities to urban centers.
“We have also invested hugely in security to ensure that farmers and herders go about their economic activities without any fear of being attacked.
“Because of the enabling environments created by our administration, the state has been rated first in the production of sesame seeds, fifth in rice production, second in cassava production among others,” he added.
Sule also said that the state in partnership with the private sector is currently building a Technology Village in Karu to harness the potential in Information Communication Technology (ICT).
He added that with the discovery of oil in Keana, the state would benefit immensely, and it would boost the revenue of the state when the exploration begins.
On workers welfare, the governor said he has implemented the over 10 years outstanding promotions of workers, given permanent employment to casual staff, employed thousands of workers.
Governor Sule also said that since he assumed office in 2019, workers and pensioners were being paid 100 per cent and the state is not owing any salary.
The governor therefore called on the people to vote for him again to enable him to sustain and improve on his achievements in the last four years.
The media parley which had in attendance journalists from print, electronic, featured questions from journalists present at the event.
