N1,000 revenue per capita dampens hope of financial sustainability, fiscal stability in Katsina

By Aminu Abubakar

A review of the Katsina state budget performance document for the second quarter of 2024, by SolaceBase has shown that a sum of N10.5 billion was earned as internally generated revenue for half a year.

The money is broken down into N5.6 billion from personal income tax, N794 million from other taxes and N4 billion from non-tax revenue.

In the second quarter alone, the sum of N4.1 billion was earned, meaning that N6.4 billion was made in the first quarter.

This would also mean that on a population basis, internally generated revenue per capita for the state stood at N1000 for the first half of the 2024 fiscal year.

Internally generated revenue per capita is measured through IGR divided by population.

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Katsina state has an estimated population of 10.3 million persons with an IGR of N10.5 billion

Katsina has a history of low IGR per capita with the figure standing at N1,900 per person in the whole of 2023, after it earned N19 billion.

There have been concerns on poor revenue posted by states. For instance, by implication, the revenue recorded by the Katsina state government in half year, 2024, meant that it had to borrow N34 billion to finance its budgetary and fiscal needs.

Reliance on loans however comes with a heavy burden of debt servicing payments.

In the first six months of 2024, the state spent N8 billion on debt servicing. This would mean that it spent about 80% of its earned revenue in the year on debt servicing.

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Poor revenue also denies the state the capacity to meet developmental challenges.

Katsina suffers from a dearth in basic needs. A report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) states that 38% of children of school age in the state are unable to attend school, 61% of households in the state lack sanitary facilities, 39% of households lack access to clean drinking water, 81% of the households in the state lack access to housing materials.

Other issues such as access to healthcare also persist in Katsina state.

Experts state that Katsina state must look at ways of improving its revenue fortunes.