Designing a Revenue Mobilisation Strategy for Local Government Areas in South East Nigeria

Local government revenue mobilisation in South East Nigeria is chronically inadequate, leaving LGAs dependent on federal allocations that provide insufficient resources for local development, and designing a professional revenue strategy addresses this governance challenge. This study designed a revenue mobilisation strategy for local government areas in Anambra, Enugu, and Imo States, South East Nigeria. A professional strategy design methodology was applied, incorporating revenue potential assessments of 12 selected LGAs, structured consultations with 15 LGA finance officers and 8 revenue administration specialists, and benchmarking against high-performing LGA revenue mobilisation models in Lagos and Ogun States. Assessment confirmed that property tax, business levies, and market fees were the largest under-collected revenue heads in all assessed LGAs. The average IGR-to-total revenue ratio was only 14.3 percent, well below the national LGA average of 22 percent. Tax administration technology gaps, inadequate revenue staff training, and low taxpayer compliance culture were the primary constraints. The strategy developed specifies a property tax valuation modernisation module, a digital market fee collection system, a business registration incentive programme, and a taxpayer education campaign. Expert review by 10 revenue economists confirmed the strategy's practicality. Recommendations include state government technical support for LGA revenue reform, intergovernmental fund-matching for LGAs that improve IGR, and a South East LGA Revenue Development Programme coordinated through state Ministries of Local Government.

Keywords: revenue mobilisation, local government, South East Nigeria, IGR, tax administration