Top Poorest States in Nigeria by Internally Generated Revenues 

The seventh Annual States Viability Index report by Economic Confidential says six states are in financial trouble because they don’t make enough money on their own. These states can’t make enough money internally. Last year 2022, they made less than 10% of what they got from the national government.

Some states did better at making their own money than before, but others did worse. Six states only made less than 10% of their own money in 2022, compared to two states in 2021. The six states that need money from the national government are Bayelsa, Katsina, Akwa Ibom, Taraba, Yobe, and Kebbi. Adamawa almost had the same problem, but it made just enough money (N13.1 billion) compared to what it got from the national government (N116 billion).

Without monthly money from the national government, many states can’t manage. They depend on this money, which comes from oil sales and other sources. States make their own money through taxes and fees from roads and government departments.

Lagos is the best at making its own money. It made N651 billion in 2022, much more than the N370 billion it got from the national government. Other states like Ogun, Rivers, Kaduna, Kwara, Oyo, and Edo also did well at making money. In 2022, all the states together made N1.8 trillion on their own, a bit more than in 2021 (N1.76 trillion).

Lagos made more money on its own (N651 billion) than 30 other states combined. These 30 states don’t make much money compared to what they get from the national government. The seven states that did the best made N1.15 trillion together in 2022. This is almost double the money made by the other 29 states, which only made about N650 billion.

Some states like Anambra, Enugu, Ondo, Nasarawa, Delta, and Osun also made good money on their own. In total, six states with good money-making made N225 billion, while the other 23 states made N426 billion in 2022. The report also says that only three states in the North (Kaduna, Kwara, and Nasarawa) made more than 20% of their money compared to what they got from the national government.

In the South, eight states (Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Oyo, Edo, Anambra, Enugu, and Ondo) made over 20% of their own money in 2022. Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom in the South, and Katsina, Kebbi, Yobe, and Taraba in the North, made the least money on their own compared to what they got from the national government in 2022.