The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, said on Thursday the state would stop relying on federal allocations by 2025.

El-Rufai disclosed this to journalists shortly after declaring open the 147th meeting of the state’s Joint Tax Board.

He said the state has been boosting its tax collections and channeling the funds to infrastructure, education, and health care.

The governor said the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) reached N50.9 billion in 2020.

El-Rufai said: “In our last budget, 60 percent of our budget came from the federal account and 40 percent from IGR.

“But the way we are going, with a very hard-working internal revenue service team, in the next four to five years we will get to a point where we will only go to the federation account only out of courtesy not because we need the money.

“We are focused on running the government and doing development projects entirely from tax collection. We don’t want to depend on the federation account, that’s our goal.”

The governor said his administration is determined to show the people that the payment of tax is not a burden but a contribution to the development of the state.

“And when you contribute, you will see the development, you will see the result.

“This result you will see through free education, 12 years of free education not nine years like other states.

“In Kaduna, it is not just basic education, but free education for junior secondary school and senior secondary and primary which is all financed from taxes.

We provide primary health care free to children under the age of five and to all pregnant women. All senior citizens above the age of 70 get free health care, all from taxation,” he added.