The Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described the states poor performance in the recently released data on Value Added Tax, VAT, generated by the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, for the first quarter of 2025-which placed the state 35th out of 36 states-as a sign of a state lacking relevant economic policies.
This was stated in a press release issued by the spokesperson of the party, Lancelot Obiaku, who said that the recent statistics confirmed its earlier assertion that Governor Hope Uzodinma's administration has crippled the state's economy and stifled businesses and commercial activities through poor economic policies, which, he stated, have rendered the state unattractive to investors.
The PDP spokesperson pointed out that the state, according to the recent figures, contributed the second-lowest VAT revenue to the federation account with just N2.34 billion, only ahead of Taraba State, which contributed N2.33 billion.
He hinted that it is unbelievable the state performed worse among other states in Southern Nigeria and fell far behind Anambra State with N10.73 billion and Ebonyi State with N7.43 billion.
To be clear, VAT is a consumption tax levied on goods and services at each stage of production or distribution, and is paid by consumers but collected by businesses and remitted to the Government through the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS. VAT ratio, therefore, reflects the economic activity and commercial strength of states and is directly proportional to the productivity level and health of an economy.