BY GODWIN IJEDIOGOR

THE Delta State Government is harnessing the huge potentials in the informal sector to improve its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), having realised that its tax net worth is not what it should be and considering the increasing responsibilities of government, especially in the area of infrastructural development.

Commissioner for Finance, Chief Fidelis Tilije, who stated this in Asaba when he received the Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), said the Governor Sheriff Oborevwori administration has in the last one year been exploring ways and means to improve on the state’s finances.

   He stated: “We haven’t even touched the informal sector at all. We are hoping that in the next few months, we will be needing your assistance to help us drive the initiative.

   “The informal sector in Delta State is huge, because our formal sector is very small. Once you remove the payee public servants, the other one is almost insignificant.”

   Tilije, while acknowledging that Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) receipts to the state was improving, however, said the increment has been affected by several factors, including inflation and upward review of contract figures.

   “The governor had stated at several fora that all contracts by past administrations would be completed, and we cannot complete until we review contracts, because of the cost component of what they are doing.

“We all know what the cost of diesel is today, for example, which is particularly needed for the job they do,” he noted.

   On the enactment of the Cybercrime Act 2024, Tilije explained that the state government had consolidated various Bills to reduce the burden on residents.

   Earlier, Chairman of Chapel, Comrade Ifeanyi Olannye, decried the increasing number of taxes on the citizenry, especially as the county grapples with inflation and rising cost of goods and services.

   He stated: “As watchdogs, we hold the government accountable and we hereby dare to say that the people are groaning under too many taxes and levies by governments at all levels, but especially the federal government.”