The Gombe State Government has unveiled plans to significantly increase its internally generated revenue (IGR), targeting N39 billion as part of efforts to strengthen the state’s finances and support the 2026 budget.
Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Salihu Baba-Alkali, announced the target while presenting the detailed breakdown of the 2026 budget, shortly after Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya laid a ₦535.69 billion appropriation bill before the State House of Assembly.
Baba-Alkali described the new IGR target as both challenging and realistic, attributing the confidence behind it to the impressive performance of the Gombe State Internal Revenue Service (GIRS) in 2025.
He said the ₦39 billion target, represents a 19.22% increase from the ₦32.7 billion set for 2025, noting that GIRS had already surpassed its 2025 revenue goal by 103% as of October.
He explained that ongoing reforms and strengthened institutional capacity within the revenue service have positioned the state to meet and possibly exceed the new projection.
According to him, the IGR boost will provide crucial support for financing and completing key development projects across Gombe.
The commissioner on Wednesday, called on the GIRS to intensify its revenue collection efforts to reduce the state’s dependence on federal allocations.
He also appealed to residents to support the government’s development drive by paying their taxes responsibly.
Providing further insight into expected funding for the 2026 budget, Baba-Alkali said the state expects ₦80 billion from statutory allocations, ₦65 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT), and ₦132 billion from other FAAC receipts.
He added that VAT is projected to contribute 25.5% of total revenue, while FAAC receipts will account for 41.77%.
He also disclosed that the state plans to secure ₦186.7 billion in external borrowing, representing 82.76% of total capital receipts, clarifying that most of the funds will come from drawdowns on multilateral loans accessed on behalf of states by the Federal Government.
