Newscenter Media News Strives to meet N52.4b IGR target
The Abia State government, yesterday, disbursed N1 billion interest-free revolving loans to 9,200 nano and micro business operators drawn from the 17 councils of state.
This came under the first phase of the Abia State Cooperative Support Scheme.
Flagging off the disbursement exercise at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, the state capital, the state governor, Dr Alex Otti, said: “The scheme represents the practical commitment of the state government to support the army of nano, micro and small-scale entrepreneurs to build new levels of success on the strength of the leverage provided them by public-sector driven initiatives such as this.”
Otti noted that the focus of the loan is to boost the businesses of beneficiaries in the state and have a multiplier effect on the state’s burgeoning economy.
He stressed that 70 per cent of the beneficiaries in this current batch are women and young people who have shown great industry by doing so much with very little resources.
He said that through this scheme, the state government will, in the next few days, reach a minimum of 50 different entrepreneurs in every ward in the state, offer them the financial support they need to grow their businesses, earn money to support their families and contribute even more to the economic growth of communities where they live.
MEANWHILE, as the state government sustains drive to meet its set N52. 4 billion Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) target for 2024, it has only recorded N15.4 billion within the first six months of the year, a monthly average of N2.89 billion.
The Finance Commissioner, Mike Akpara, who disclosed this to journalists, said that the recorded half year accounts still exceeded those recorded within the same period by the state in past administrations.
He said that the Otti administration would subsist frugal management of the state resources to the benefit of all the sectors, stressing that all the state resources were not meant for salaries, as there are other needs and services that ought to be attended to from the available resources.
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