The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), aided by their development partners, recently presented their State Peer Review Mechanism report in two states, Ekiti and Anambra, flagging off the scheme in Nigeria. Chibuzo Ukaibe, x-rays the report.

When Governors turn the mirror on themselves, what they ordinarily should see are reflections of the reality of the times. This much the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) decided to do with the State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM).

The overall idea of the SPRM is to assist states foster good governance and accelerate the pace of development through periodic review of progress in the implementation of policies, plans and programmes.

Primarily, state governors should be able to learn from their peers innovative and good practices that they could adopt in their respective states through participation in the peer review process.

However, much more to the peer review, some analysts opine, is the window it offers to show the quality of stewardship both for incumbent governors and past office holders.

As such, the two states that flagged off the pilot project were Anambra and Ekiti. And with personalities like former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Uwais, as chairman are Sen. Bukola Saraki, Mr. Donald Duke, Prof. Oladipo Adamolekun, Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo, Mrs. Ayo Obe, Ms Ijeoma Nwaogwugwu, Amb. Tunji Olagunju, Dr. Yemi Kale and Dr. Precious Gbeneol, in the Steering Committee of the SPRM, the out come of the peer review of these states was not so charitable afterall.

So, when the technical team- the foot solders of the SPRM- set to work on the two states, they ensured that all the areas for assessment, including health, development, agriculture, education and revenue profile among others, were covered bearing in mind the uniqueness of each state, in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.

Speaking on the IGR in Anambra State, Jerome, while quoting the report said, “Anambra States Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has remained very low, hovering around N500m monthly or 20 percent of the actual revenue receipts since 2007 despite the great revenue potential.”

The report further noted that, “experts during the technical Review Mission, estimated that the state is capable of generating up to N2bn revenue monthly from internal sources, especially as it has about 63 major markets whose revenue are currently being diverted into private hands.”

The report further revealed that while the State’s Board of Internal Revenue is still poorly funded, there is failure to professionalise the organization, while the working environment, facilities and equipment for revenue administration are hardly satisfactory

Anambra state, the report disclosed is “leading other states in ICT through the establishment of Micro Soft Academy” and gave a thumbs up to its move to return 56 secondary and 1040 primary mission schools to their owners and the disbursement of N6bn as take-off grants. They were however cautious with their commendation as the report quipped, “it is hoped that this will turn the education system around and restore moral values”.

In Anambra State, much like in Ekiti, the economic development, according to the SPRM report, “shows a high incidence of poverty.”

“Across the three senatorial districts surveyed, the average head count poverty index was 58 per cent. This is corroborated by the National Bureau of Statistics data which indicated that the incidence of poverty in the state increased from 20.11 per cent in 2004 to 68 per cent in 2010.

“However, the state has the lowest poverty incidence in the South-East, after Imo State with 57.3 per cent. Anambra also performed poorly in the World Bank’s “Doing Business in Nigeria” 2010 report, which compares regulations in 36 states and the FCT. It ranked 35th in terms of ease of doing business,” the report said.

The report further bemoaned the state as a paradox of plenty thus: “Anambra State is sadly very much afflicted by the Nigerian paradox- the paradox of plenty: persistence of institutional and resource deficits amidst the country’s abundant human and financial resources. While it can take exceptional pride in its contribution of its illustrious sons and daughters such as Chinua Achebe, Dora Akunyili, Chukwuma Soludo, Oby Ezekwesili, Ben Nwabueze, Chimamanda Adichie and a host of others who have either conquered the world stage or played interventionistroles in the national scene,....many of Anambra’s well-to- do people, including professionals, live and own homes in other parts of Nigeria and come home infrequently, or only to attend special events.”

On the unique ecological problem experienced in the state, the report noted that communities hit most. By soil erosion are Agulu, Nanka, Oko, Awka, Uga and Ozubulu where it is said to have devastated several houses. The state is said to have about 1000 erosion sites. It however mentioned the team work by the state government, local government and communities to fund and implement several erosion control projects.

As far as human resources management goes, the report decried the ageing workforce at the top of the chain, as well as many junior officers at the entry point; even though it noted the state has done “fairly well” in trying to keep the public service focused on effective service delivery in the face of some challenges.

More so, the report worried that, some departments such as Forestry, Pharmaceutical Services, Surveying and Environmental Health, there are only grade levels 15 – 17 officers and a few GL 08 and 09 officers down the line who can rise to the top level when the current senior officers retire without some loss of competence.

Citing an instance, the report says that, “the workforce in the Forestry Department is particularly depleted. At the creation of the state, the department had over 600 personnel manning six Forest Reserves.

“The staff strength of the department is a mere 22. The result of this has been illegal activities of all forms and the massive depletion of forests, which has encouraged soil erosion thus posing serious threats to the state.”

The state was nonetheless, praised for its good network of roads linking the state capital to all the local government areas. It was also commended for releasing about N6bn as take-off grant to missionary schools returned to their original owners. The Fadama III project is currently rated best in the South- East and one of the best in the country owing to regular funding.

In all, the report said of the state Governor, Peter Obi, who has barely months to stay in office, “from being a state where political violence, kidnapping, illegal militias and wanton destruction of public property characterised politics and administration, Anambra state has become more stable and better governed...however much still needs to be done to sustain the gains made and add value to the quality of life of people of the state by entrenching the prevailing climate of peace and security.”

http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/52144/2013/04/16/when_governors_selfexamine.html

A very thorough, honest and fair assessment. I wish this SPRM will go round and will be done atleast annually.

A good job there. Thats why anambra state need another good governor to continue where Gov Obi will stop. This peer review is very necessary and thats why NGF should try and resolve their problems and continue running their affairs in unity.

An unbiased report there! with no political or ethnically tone in it at all

from the report peter obi score card is 45/100!

we need someone that can take us to at least 70/100......i cant believe that anambra IGR is a pitiable 500 million a month with the amount of businesses going on there That's unacceptable!

Aguleri otuocha area alone if maximized should be raking in 2 billion per month not to talk of onitsha and nnewi industries and businesses.

billante: An unbiased report there! with no political or ethnically tone in it at all

from the report peter obi score card is 45/100!

we need someone that can take us to at least 70/100......i cant believe that anambra IGR is a pitiable 500 million a month with the amount of businesses going on there That's unacceptable!

Aguleri otuocha area alone if maximized should be raking in 2 billion per month not to talk of onitsha and nnewi industries and businesses.

what is going on aguleri otuocha?

asha 80: what is going on aguleri otuocha?

Now nothing!

But It is a place that can have refinery, power plant, airport, petrochemical plant and all kinds of industries.....The Gas to fire all these industries are lying beneath them....cheap land is also abundant there unlike already saturated onitsha and nnewi

billante:

Now nothing!

But It is a place that can have refinery, power plant, airport, petrochemical plant and all kinds of industries.....The Gas to fire all these industries are lying beneath them....cheap land is also abundant there unlike already saturated onitsha and nnewi

if i am not mistaken the governor has been trying in conjuction with orient people so that facilities there would be up and running?has the oil well dispute with kogi being resolved?

MY ERROR

From the link the OP provided

The report said, while Ekiti State has
raised, “its internally generated revenue
from a mere N106m monthly in 201 to
N1bn monthly by 2012. According to the
Ekiti Internal Revenue Service, this feat
was achieved through the blocking of
leakages in revenue collection, and making
tax payment affordable and convenient for
people in the informal sector. However, the
IGR as a proportion of actual total revenue
was on the decline from 2009 to 2011. It
was 9.8% in 2009, 7.9% in 2010; and 7.6 in
2011.

The analysis is spot on!

My major bug-bear with the present gov't in Anambra is the poor IGR (even after 7 years in office), and the unwelcoming state of Onitsha and Nnewi as regards a conducive business/touristy environment. This is why i scored Obi 55% recently.

Even though i've not seen much on the much talked about road network, i reckon he must have done well in that regard considering all the commendation he's receiving.

By rights Anambra deserves a bright cerebral technocrat as Governor; one that can sell the state to the world and address issues like the poor IGR that's presently the case in the state......someone that can stand shoulder to shoulder on the world stage with world leaders like Obama and Cameron, and boldly engage them on any developmental issues the state may have.

Obiagelli: OP WHY DID YOU EDIT THE REPORT , You are very mischievous individual you should be ashamed of yourself

From the link the OP provided

The report said, while Ekiti State has
raised, “its internally generated revenue
from a mere N106m monthly in 201 to
N1bn monthly by 2012. According to the
Ekiti Internal Revenue Service, this feat
was achieved through the blocking of
leakages in revenue collection, and making
tax payment affordable and convenient for
people in the informal sector. However, the
IGR as a proportion of actual total revenue
was on the decline from 2009 to 2011. It
was 9.8% in 2009, 7.9% in 2010; and 7.6 in
2011.

And he calls himself "sincere 9gerian? This says a lot about his dubious character.

payless:


And he calls himself "sincere 9gerian? This says a lot about his dubious character.

It's a pity such a seemingly intelligent person would go to this length. Smh

@ topic,
This is a laudable project, how wish we could do this monthly on nairaland without tribal bias

payless:


And he calls himself "sincere 9gerian? This says a lot about his dubious character.

You'r always in hurry to spew gibberish. Look at the topic again. This thread is all about Anambra. I excised all parts of the report that talked about Ekiti. You can do same for Anambra on another thread if you like. You may also reproduce the whole report on another thread. The link is there for you. The ball is your court

http://nggovernorsforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/anambra_sprr.pdf

http://nggovernorsforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Ekiti-State_SPRR-Abridged-Version.pdf

Links to full reports on the two states.

Obiagelli:
It's a pity such a seemingly intelligent person would go to this length. Smh

@ topic,
This is a laudable project, how wish we could do this monthly on nairaland without tribal bias

I think he's just interested in highlighting Anambra' portions in the report to be consistent with thread's title.

Obiagelli: OP WHY DID YOU EDIT THE REPORT , You are very mischievous individual you should be ashamed of yourself

From the link the OP provided

The report said, while Ekiti State has
raised, “its internally generated revenue
from a mere N106m monthly in 201 to
N1bn monthly by 2012. According to the
Ekiti Internal Revenue Service, this feat
was achieved through the blocking of
leakages in revenue collection, and making
tax payment affordable and convenient for
people in the informal sector. However, the
IGR as a proportion of actual total revenue
was on the decline from 2009 to 2011. It
was 9.8% in 2009, 7.9% in 2010; and 7.6 in
2011.

You'r always in hurry to spew gibberish. Look at the topic again. This thread is all about Anambra. I excised all parts of the report that talked about Ekiti. You can do same for Anambra on another thread if you like. You may also reproduce the whole report on another thread. The link is there for you. The ball is in your court

The report is consistent with my long held view that Obi is a clueless and an incompetent governor. What's in Ekiti relative to Anambra? If Fayemi could grow IGR from a paltry 106millions to an average of 1billion monthly within two years, there's no excuse why Obi should not do the same, to be modest.

Sincere 9gerian:
You'r always in hurry to spew gibberish. Look at the topic again. This thread is all about Anambra. I excised all parts of the report that talked about Ekiti. You can do same for Anambra on another thread if you like. You may also reproduce the whole report on another thread. The link is there for you. The ball is in your court

I take back my comment, I missed out the anambra in focus

IGBO-SON:
The analysis is spot on!

My major bug-bear with the present gov't in Anambra is the poor IGR (even after 7 years in office), and the unwelcoming state of Onitsha and Nnewi as regards a conducive business/touristy environment. This is why i scored Obi 55% recently.

Even though i've not seen much on the much talked about road network, i reckon he must have done well in that regard considering all the commendation he's receiving.

By rights Anambra deserves a bright cerebral technocrat as Governor; one that can sell the state to the world and address issues like the poor IGR that's presently the case in the state......someone that can stand shoulder to shoulder on the world stage with world leaders like Obama and Cameron, and boldly engage them on any developmental issues the state may have.

I agree with you

truth of the matter is that anambra state government would have to start getting ruthless with tax whether the residents like it or not.

This report identified one important problem of Anambra State and indeed SE states.Lack of payment of taxes is the disease of South East governments.

Perhaps the years of military rule made people to avoid paying taxes like a plague or perhaps it is because the taxes are made to be in thousands of naira which makes it unaffordable to some people or is it because taxes are collected from the people once or twice every year.

For whatever reasons, the Anambra state government must employ tax professionals to block all the leakages in the system and overhaul the entire tax code to make it affordable to everyone.Taxing small businesses the same amount taxed a factory would simply make that business to run underground.

Obiagelli:
It's a pity such a seemingly intelligent person would go to this length. Smh

@ topic,
This is a laudable project, how wish we could do this monthly on nairaland without tribal bias

We dey see you ooo. Tomorrow now you go talk say you be Igbo. Old hag.

ifechez:

We dey see you ooo. Tomorrow now you go talk say you be Igbo. Old hag.

Noted, Onye ala

Let me begin by acknowledging that Gov. Peter Obi did a lot of good for his state and people that i cannot enumerate it all here.

However,two critical areas Peter Obi was grossly deficient is the area of mass housing and internal revenue generation.

In terms of housing development to solve the acute housing crisis in Anambra,nobody is asking Gov. Obi to build houses for everyone in the state.After the Habitat for Humanity produced base maps and masterplan for development of Anambra cities,people thought that housing development according to the plan was going to start in earnest.They were wrong.

Gov. Obi was only required to use his office to approve the new well planned housing Layouts in accordance with the masterplan, and at least use bulldozers to provide access roads into such layouts so that the people can own land there and build their own homes. Instead he opted to donate hundreds of millions of naira to football clubs,army barracks etc to do roads in those areas,instead of opening up the vital new estates mapped out in the plan.

Nobody should please try to distort facts about Ngozika,Udoka,AHOCOL estates in Awka. We know Ezeife and Mbadinuju opened up those estates.The 4000 Greenwood housing & Industrial estate Awka and the ANAM City Project promised by Gov. Obi have remained what it is- A FAILED PROMISE!

On Internally generated revenue, Ebonyi state generates about N500 million per month. It is a disaster that Anambra cannot go beyond N450 million a month ! There are too many people refusing to pay taxes because individuals have been pocketing the state's taxes and Obi have been unwilling or unable to do anything about the leakages.

Cjrane, just a little correction to your last post: Ebonyi generates more than a billion naira monthly as IGR! Makes you wonder (like WTF! ) doesn't it?

Get ACN and the tinubu brigade on the case and internally generated revenue will increase to 6billion a month within 1year.

Sincere 9gerian:
“However, the state has the lowest poverty incidence in the South-East, after Imo State with 57.3 per cent. Anambra also performed poorly in the World Bank’s “Doing Business in Nigeria” 2010 report, which compares regulations in 36 states and the FCT. It ranked 35th in terms of ease of doing business,” the report said.

So Imo leads Southeast as can be easily noticed by the high standard of living in Owerri.

Abagworo:

So Imo leads Southeast as can be easily noticed by the high standard of living in Owerri.

Leading who and who?? You are pathetic..

Maybe in commercial se.x hawking. There is no single private investor in Imo state. Government is the highest and only employer of labor. The state is in a huge mess. Its pitiable.

So what made you think that standard of living is high in a state that only has charlets for jobless youths?

The last I checked imo state people are migrating to other neighboring states of Rivers, Anambra, Enugu etc without nobody going to Imo state either to live nor to work. Figure it out.

EASTSIDAZ:


Leading who and who?? You are pathetic..

Maybe in commercial se.x hawking. There is no single private investor in Imo state. Government is the highest and only employer of labor. The state is in a huge mess. Its pitiable.

So what made you think that standard of living is high in a state that only has charlets for jobless youths?

The last I checked imo state people are migrating to other neighboring states of Rivers, Anambra, Enugu etc without nobody going to Imo state either to live nor to work. Figure it out.

Unbiased experts have studied poverty incidence and concluded that Imo has the lowest in the Southeast. Why are you mad at that?

abagoro:

Unbiased experts have studied poverty incidence and concluded that Imo has the lowest in the Southeast. Why are you mad at that?

Stop whinning. Lmao

Its not about what on paper but what is obtainable.
Keep deceiving yourself. Well whatever makes you sleep at nite. We all know that 1/3 of imo state population has invaded Onitsha to live and to survive economically. Am yet see a single Anambran living in imo state. Imo state is the poorest state in the SE in terms of GDP. The only thing they export is prostitution. Hahaha

ifechez:

We dey see you ooo. Tomorrow now you go talk say you be Igbo. Old hag.

YOU DEY MIND THAT DESOLA GEH

mike404: YOU DEY MIND THAT DESOLA GEH

Which Desola do you refer to?

Abagworo:

So Imo leads Southeast as can be easily noticed by the high standard of living in Owerri.

Enough of this nonsense Abagworo. This thread is not about competition bw Imo and Anambra but about assessment of states‘ performance.
I would expect an adult like you to be a lot more tactful when you address issues of this nature, whether Imo or Anambra is leading should be our concern but to see that the five Igbo states are moving on in the desired direction.