THERE is no doubt that the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue Service (DBIRS) is breaking new ground, with regards to its core mandate. According to official records from the DBIRS, the IGR in the state for 2025 stood at N202.487 billion. This amounts to 151 percent of the N134.092 initially targeted for the year. The figure is a remarkable improvement from the N157.785 billion collected in 2024.
Unveiling the performance of the agency, Chief Solomon Ighrakpata, its executive chairman, attributed the success story to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s commitment to development and good governance in the state. According to to him, the Governor’s commitment to development and good governance in the state in addition to the sustained security efforts, the improved business environment as well as the visible infrastructure projects had attracted investments and continued to encourage voluntary tax compliance in the state.
We congratulate the DBIRS on this record revenue collection. It undoubtedly demonstrates the fact that the review of its internal systems to plug leakages and boost voluntary compliance by companies and organisations are yielding positive results.
However, as the series of tax records initiated by the administration of President Bola Tinubu have come into effect, Chief Ighrakpata and his agency cannot afford to rest on their oars. They should, in earnest, review the critical reforms introduced in tax administration laws and evaluate the adoption of relevant components that will serve the interests of Delta State.
To make it a productive exercise, the input and ideas of the business community and organised private sector should be sought. This could be done through the organisation of a workshop where business owners should be engaged on the options that could be considered in boosting tax compliance. In doing this, however, care must be taken to avoid the controversy that the Federal Government’s effort has been enmeshed in. At every stage of such review, the buy-in of the business community must be secured, and their inputs given dispassionate evaluation.
An equally important aspect of the impressive revenue is the fact that Delta State can still do significantly more. Although Delta is acknowledged as the highest producer of crude oil in terms of export, the revenue that accrues to it comes mainly from 13 percent derivation from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC). What could have accrued through Personal Income Tax (PIT) from the Pay As You Earn of oil workers is lost as most of the major oil companies have relocated from the state to Lagos. Although the reason for the initial relocation was understandably due to the sectarian violence that pervaded the state at some point, such arguments are no longer valid.
As even the international oil companies have come to acknowledge, peace and security have since returned to the once restive communities. We are convinced that the time for the activation of the longstanding call for oil companies to relocate back to Delta State has come. We urge the Federal Government to prevail on the oil companies to deploy the administrative and other support staff to Delta State where the revenue they earn is produced. It is morally and administratively unacceptable for them to have corporate headquarters in Lagos and the staff pay tax to the former federal capital while Delta State where their operations are based is out in the cold.
The increased share of derivation component in the sharing of Value Added Tax (VAT) and other federally collected taxes make it imperative for the companies to return to Delta State. Their return will further boost the state’s earnings from internally generated revenue and VAT.
