By Peter Uwumarogie
The Gombe State Government says it has targeted N39billion Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), to finance the 2026 budget.
Mr Salihu Baba-Alkali, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, said this while presenting the 2026 budget breakdown.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Inuwa Yahaya on Thursday presented the proposed 2026 estimate N535,691,983,000 to the State House of Assembly.
Baba-Alkali said the expected N39billion IGR was ambitious but achievable in view of the success recorded by the state’s Revenue Service in 2025.
He said the projected revenue was higher than N32.7 billion targeted for 2025 by 19.22 per cent, achieved in October by 103 per cent.
The commissioner said the state government had strengthened the revenue service to enable it to meet the target.
According to Baba-Alkali, the IGR will complement other funds needed to sustain and complete the massive ongoing projects in the state.
He urged the service to improve its revenue collection records, to boost the state’s revenue base and reduce over reliance on federal allocations.
“I commend the Gombe State Internally Revenue Service for achieving 103 per cent target of its total amount budgeted to be received in 2025.
“I appeal to the good people of Gombe to support the state government’s infrastructural development by willingly and regularly paying their taxes,” he said.
On other sources to fund the 2026 budget, Baba-Alkali said the state was expecting N80billion from the Statutory Allocation, N65billion from the state’s share of VAT and N132billion from FAAC receipts.
He said the VAT would contribute 25.5 per cent of the expected total revenue while other FAAC receipts amounting to N132 billion contribute 41.77 per cent of the expected total revenue.
Baba-Alkali said the state would externally borrow N186.7 billion, contributing 82.76 per cent of the total capital receipts.
“It is important to note that the huge sum of external borrowing is majorly a drawdown from multilateral organisations which the Federal Government borrow on behalf of states.
“These externally borrowings are coming majorly from World Bank and Islamic Development Bank,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Rabiu Sani-Ali
