NAN – Gov. Nasiru el-Rufai of Kaduna State has set up a tax reform committee to improve the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
The governor announced this in Kaduna on Saturday during his maiden town hall meeting with stakeholders in the state to mark his one month in office.
El-Rufai said the committee would be chaired by the former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mrs Ifueko Omogui.
He said the committee would recommend ways to improve the state’s IGR to reduce dependency on the Federal Government.
The governor also said he would convene a health summit to set out the state’s priorities in the sector.
“We will ensure that all funds in the health sector are streamlined for effective healthcare delivery,’’ he said.
The governor disclosed that the state government had signed the 2015 UNICEF work plan with its counterpart funding for initiatives in nutrition, HIV/AIDs, water and sanitation.
He said his administration would install two dialysis machines and repair the three that had broken down at Barau Dikko Hospital.
El-Rufai further said he would give priority to agriculture with a view to ensuring food security in the state.
“A new agricultural policy is being prepared with the aim of enhancing the capacity of the sector to create viable jobs, improve farm productivity and raise the involvement of the citizens in the value chain.
“We will stop the unfair practice of allocating subsidised fertiliser to prominent persons to the detriment of ordinary farmers.
“We launched the 2015 fertiliser sales season in Kachia.
“ We shall be reviewing and improving the process of procuring and distributing fertiliser to make it accessible to genuine farmers,’’ he said.
El-Rufai said efforts were being made to attract investors to the state.
“Our drive to attract new investors to the state has attracted positive response from Indorama, a leading player in petrochemicals.
“They have selected Kaduna as their regional distribution centre and they will be building warehouses, fertiliser blending plant and a training centre in Kaduna,’’ he said.
The governor, however, solicited the support of the people to restore the dignity of the state.
