Plateau IGR hits N30b in 2024, as Mutfwang sets N52b target for 2025

The chairman, Plateau State Internal Revenue Service (PSIRS), Dr. Jim Pam Wayas, said the state raked in N31.14 billion in 2024, the first in the history of the state.

Pam said this is in contrast to the N25.8 billion made in 2023.

Speaking to reporters in his office on Friday, Pam said the service has also received a tall order from Governor Caleb Mutfwang to increase the revenue to N52 billion 2025.

He said the service is however starting on a good footing, as it already collected N3.3 billion in January compared to N1.6 billion in the corresponding period last year.

Pam said the service was able to achieve this through improved revenue collection by bringing more tax payers into the tax net and blocking leakages in the revenue system.

He said, “In 2023, we were able to jack the revenue to N25.8 billion from somewhere around N15.8 billion in the preceding year. But as at close of business last year, the revenue closed at N31.14 billion.

“And that’s the first time the Plateau State has hit the benchmark of above N30 billion in revenue generation. However, there’s hope that we need to start 2025 on a tall order because even the state government has given us a total revenue target of N52 billion in 2025.

“But we started 2025 on a strong footing. As at January, we collected about N3.3 billion, which is not even the highest that we ever collected in any given month, but I think compared to last year, by January, we did about N1.6 billion.

“That shows significant improvement in revenue generation.

Pam said though the state had witnessed an increase in internally generated revenue, it’s federally allocated revenue had for the past six months come with a minus, owing to foreign debts that the state had incurred in the past and fluctuations in rate of foreign exchange.

Mandate Secretary, FCT Women Affairs Secretariat, Dr. Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, has said the new Bwari Women Skills Acquisition Centre will be a vital resource that will serve as a beacon of opportunity for countless women in Abuja.

The Mandate Secretary, represented by Jose Mudashiru, revealed this at the Commissioning Ceremony of the Helpline Social Support Initiative Women Skills Acquisition and Processing Centre. Barongoni Community, Bwari, Abuja.

She said the commissioning, which part of the International Women’s Day 2025 celebrations, presents an opportunity to show her committment to supporting initiatives that empower women through education and skills development.

“‘Skills acquisition is not merely about learning a trade; it is about fostering confidence, independence, and resilience. When women are equipped with skills, they gain the ability to support themselves and their families, break the cycle of poverty, and contribute to the economy”, the Secretary said.

Founder and President, Helpline Social Support Initiative, Dr. Jumai Ahmadu, at the event, said the new centre, henceforth tagged ‘Garri Plaza’, is one of many such centers in all the six area councils of the FCT.

Represented by Jane Chinwe Williams, she said that empowering women is not just a moral obligation “it is a catalyst for social and economic progress. When we nurture the potential of women, we ultimately uplift families, communities, and entire nations” .

Dr. Jumai said the centre, comprising about 50 women, will be a sanctuary of learning and growth, equipped with the resources needed for our women to thrive, and where they will discover new skills, gain confidence, and prepare to contribute meaningfully to society.

In her remarks, Dr. (Mrs.) Rebecca Usman, who commissioned the center, said the skills centre represents a symbol of hope for women, and is a sanctuary where women can harness their skills and build sustainable livelihoods because women are the backbone of the community.

She said the process of producing garri involves purchasing cassava from the the market and leaving it in sacks for about two days or more, then the cassava is grinded in machine before it is fried and then properly packaged.

Representative of the Minister of Women Affairs at the occasion, Festus Bakpet, said the skills centre is a noble idea and is in tandem with the ministry of women affairs and the Renewed Hope Agenda of this administration.

Wife of the Etsu of Bwari, Susan Danlami, who graced the occasion, commended the initiative and tenacity of the builders of the centre which she described as a platform for entrepreneurship and encouraged women to embrace the opportunity it offers and to support one another.

She said when women are equipped with skills they get ability to support themselves and their families, they break the circle of poverty and contribute to the economy, it is a transformative process that can lift entire communities.

Some of the over 25 women who were present at the commissioning of the skill centre, who also spoke, commended Helpline Social Support Initiative for their effort in establishing the centre and said they would contribute their best to see to its success.

Booming cocoa prices are stirring interest in turning Nigeria into a bigger player in the sector, with hopes of challenging top producers Ivory Coast and Ghana, where crops have been ravaged by climate change and disease.

Nigeria has struggled to diversify its oil-dependent economy but investors have taken another look at cocoa beans after global prices soared to a record $12,000 per tonne in December.

“The farmers have never had it so good,” Patrick Adebola, executive director at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, told AFP.

More than a dozen local firms have expressed interest in investing in or expanding their production this year, while the British government’s development finance arm recently poured $40.5 million into Nigerian agribusiness company Johnvents.

Nigeria is the world’s seventh biggest cocoa bean producer, producing more than 280,000 tonnes in 2023, according to the most recent data compiled by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

The government has set an ambitious production target of 500,000 tonnes for the 2024-2025 season, which would move it into fourth place behind Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia.

Adebola doubts Nigeria can reach the target this season, but he believes it is feasible in the next few years as there is rising interest in rehabilitating old plantations or establishing new ones.

He said Nigerian growers are much more exposed to the highs and lows of the global cocoa market than their peers in Ivory Coast and Ghana as prices are regulated in those countries.

Cocoa futures contracts in New York have fallen from their December record but they remain high at more than $8,000 per tonne. Cocoa prices typically ranged between $2,000 and $3,000 before the recent surge.

“Individuals are going into cocoa production at every level… to make sure they also enjoy the current price,” said Comrade Adeola Adegoke, president of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria.

– ‘Full-sun’ monocrop –

Ivory Coast is by far the world’s top grower, producing more than two million tonnes of cocoa beans in 2023, followed by Ghana at 650,000 tonnes.

But the two countries had poor harvests last year as crops were hit by bad weather and disease, causing a supply shortage that sent global prices to all-time highs.

Nigeria’s cocoa has largely been spared so far from the worst effects of climate change, but expanding the crop could carry environmental risks.

The government has stepped up efforts to promote the long-unregulated sector via the National Cocoa Management Committee, which was established in 2022 to regulate the industry and support farmers.

But agriculture modernisation efforts have encouraged the development of “full-sun” monocrop plantations that only focus on growing cocoa beans, without the use of companion plants or trees.

A recent study in the journal Agroforestry Systems has raised concerns about this approach, saying monocrop farming can be less sustainable compared growing the bean alongside shade trees, promoting biodiversity and improving environmental health.

– Land and money? –

Scaling up the sector could also prove challenging because much of Nigeria’s cocoa is grown by small-scale farmers.

Peter Okunde, a farmer in Ogun state, told AFP he lacks both the capital and land to expand his four-hectare (10-acre) cocoa plantation.

Land “is the major instrument farmers need… and the money to develop it”, said Okunde, 49.

But John Alamu, group managing director of Johnvents, told CNBC Africa this week that “the problem is not land area”.

Noting that Nigeria has 1.4 million hectares dedicated to cocoa production — more than Ghana’s 1.1 million, he told the broadcaster a more holistic approach was needed.

“These are things (other) governments have used to support farmers: provision of seedlings, training on good agronomic practices, a real focus on sustainable agriculture,” he said.

“These are key things that will be responsible to take Nigeria back to its leadership position.”

AFP