Onome Amuge
Enugu State, popularly known as the Coal City State, is rewriting its fiscal story with a series of reforms that have not only boosted internally generated revenue (IGR) but are also reshaping the socio-economic development of the state.
Nnamani Emmanuel Ekene, the executive chairman of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), disclosed that as at September 2025, the state had mobilised more than N5.8 billion in revenue, up from N3.8 billion in 2024 and less than N100 million a few years ago.
Speaking at a webinar hosted by The IGR Initiative and themed “All Eyes on Enugu State: Lessons from Innovative IGR Reforms, Successes & Challenges, Ekene noted that for decades, revenue collection in Enugu, as in many other Nigerian states, was riddled with inefficiencies and leakages. He further noted that collections were dominated by revenue contractors who deployed intimidation and diverted funds into private accounts.
“The first thing we did was to stop cash collection of revenue. We also stopped revenue contractors who use intimidation and pay into private accounts. The IRS took over the entire revenue collection for the state, and the revenue started growing,” Nnamani explained.
Nnamani further detailed that this decision, backed by the State House of Assembly and with Governor Peter Mbah’s approval, gave the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service full autonomy to manage collections. It also marked a shift to transparency and accountability, a move that has helped to shore up confidence among citizens and investors alike.
The ESIRS chairman stated that the revenue agency discovered it was working with just one payment gateway when the reforms began. This limited platform, he observed, could not provide real-time reporting or consolidation across the government’s many ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
“We’ve now introduced several other payment gateways. We started building a new central management system from scratch. The previous one could not hold. This system unified the collection of all MDAs. All revenue collections are made using these payment gateways and the CMS. Receipts can only be generated through the CMS, and all bills, invoices and demand notices are also generated there,” he said.
Nnamani added that MDAs responsible for land, environment, transport and more are currently plugged into this central platform, ensuring that revenues are not only captured but tracked efficiently.
Speaking further, he noted that one of the biggest breakthroughs has been in the informal sector (markets, transport operators, and small businesses) historically underserved by formal tax systems. According to the ESIRS chairman, Enugu could barely raise N100 million annually from this segment. By 2024, the figure rose to N3.8 billion. And by September 2025, collections had grown to N5.8 billion, with technology, inclusiveness, and accountability driving compliance.
He noted that the ESIRS introduced an e-ticketing system using wallet technology to consolidate payments. Each daily ticket covers presumptive tax, business permits, signage, and other levies. Payments are split automatically between government and unions, creating buy-in from stakeholders.
“What they pay every day includes their presumptive tax, business permit, signage and other collections. We also collect for the unions and split daily using technology. So, the unions also support collections,” Nnamani explained.
According to him, market leaders are motivated by sharing in proceeds, while traders and transporters are assured that their contributions are officially recorded and tied to government service delivery.
The transformation of ESIRS has also required a shake-up of its workforce. As Nnamani explained, many staff had not received training in years, a gap that PwC helped bridge with tailored capacity-building programmes.
“We partnered with PwC, who deployed training that shifted the mindset and behaviors of our staff. Targets were cascaded from departments down to individuals, and incentives were introduced to reward performance,” Nnamani said.
In addition, the service recruited 200 young professionals through aptitude tests and structured interviews, inducting them before deployment to the field. According to Nnamani, the result has been a motivated workforce receiving better remuneration and incentives while delivering measurable outcomes.
The reforms have extended into land and property, areas Nnamani described as having vast untapped potential in the southeast. The state has embarked on land banking, securing more than 2,000 hectares for development into housing estates or for partnerships with private developers.
Enugu has also rolled out a Property Information System cataloguing over 800,000 properties. With this, the government has begun collecting land use charges, enforcing property taxes, and capturing rental income taxes from over 39,000 blocks of flats across the state.
Nnamani stated confidently that property owners can now obtain Certificates of Occupancy within 48 hours, while landlords who previously paid no tax are being brought into the tax net.
Part of the success in raising IGR, the ESIRS chairman explained, has been the government’s visible use of funds. According to him, citizens have seen tangible results in the form of 250 new smart schools, a state-owned asphalt plant, and ambitious plans to construct 10,000 kilometres of roads over eight years. He noted further that revival of moribund assets, such as the International Conference Centre and Niger Gas, has further reinforced public confidence that taxes are being put to productive use.
“Because people are seeing what the governor is doing with revenue, resistance is minimised,” Nnamani said.
Despite the progress, the reforms have faced resistance. Critics on social media have questioned the methods and complained about the expanded tax net. Entrenched interests who benefited from the old contractor system also resisted change.
“However, we faced challenges and criticisms, including on social media,” Nnamani admitted. “But the reforms are necessary to build a transparent and sustainable system,” he added.
