By Muazu Hassan
Data released by the Katsina State Internal Revenue Service reveals that from January 2023 to December 2025 the revenue generated in the state has increased from N587 million to N3.4 billion which is a 580 percent increase, indicating a wide difference in the IGR from January to December of each financial year.
In 2023 when Malam Dikko Umaru Radda came on board as governor of Katsina State, he promised to turn around the revenue fortunes of the state which will enable it to reduce dependency on monthly federation accounts allocations by putting structures in place to boost the state's capacity to generate revenue internally.
This resolve was further boosted by the governor's appointment of a seasoned banker and financial expert, Malam Isiyaku Mohammed, to head the Katsina State Internal Revenue Service from mid 2023, a move that has indeed proven to be a turning point in the fortunes of the very important agency which is saddled with the primary mandate of collecting revenue for the state.
A breakdown of the data shows that in 2023, the state's revenue doubled from N587.4 million in January to over N1 billion in December while in 2024 the IGR tripled -- from N1.045 billion to N2.9 billion while in 2025 the revenue increased by over N1 billion.
This unprecedented increase in the IGR generated in just three years indicates a major policy and operational shift at the state Internal Revenue Service, borne out of the zeal of the new leadership to meet up with high expectation of the malam dikko Umaru Raddar administration which has since fit the ground running with a record number of projects being executed in key sectors all across the state.
This policies introduced at the Katsina IRS include the codification of the state's tax laws and overhauling of the system of revenue collection from analogue to a digital, anti-fraud system that is in line with global best practice in revenue generation.
As an expert in the field with decades of experience across several reputable institutions, Isiyaku Mohammed recognized the value of enhancing manpower capacity to better position the agency to deliver on its mandate.
The agency under his stewardship therefore trained revenue officers on modern best practice in IGR collection and sponsored them on a study tour to further improve their capacity to undertake their responsibilities.
The agency also supplied revenue officers at the area offices across the state with 50 motorcycles improve their mobility. Similarly, it has concluded data capturing and enumeration of new taxpayers across the state which has by far boosted the state's taxpayers register.
Meanwhile, the IRS also maintains smooth working relationship with key stakeholders that include the traditional institution, religious leaders, security agencies and others opinion moldings and clients of the agency that add value to its operations.
The agency has also designed a new structure and modalities to properly include the informal private sector into the tax net. The service projects that by the time this category of taxpayers starts remitting taxes to the state government, the state's annual tax revenue will reach N10 billion.
This will go along way in providing the state and local governments with more funds to execute projects and programs that will be beneficial to the people.
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