The Delta State Commissioner for Finance, Sir Fidelis Tilije, has revealed how Delta State rose to become the State with highest liquidity rate among the 36 states of the federation, attributing the feat to its ability to efficiently convert its assets into cash to meet its developmental obligations.
The Commissioner made the disclosure on Tuesday, during a meeting with the management and staff of the Ministry of Finance in Asaba.
According to the commissioner, the strong liquidity position is a direct result of deliberate economic reforms embarked upon by the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori under the M.O.R.E agenda.
He explained that the cornerstone of the reform is a zero-borrowing fiscal model.He stated that Delta is funding its 2026 procurement cycle with execution of major contracts across roads, bridges, health and education without contracting new debt.
He stressed that the major driver of the liquidity is the state’s diversification into the non-oil sector and aggressive growth in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) not by raising taxes, but through professionalization of revenue collection, expansion of the tax net, improved compliance, and blocking of revenue leakages.
Tilije further revealed that the state government was set to roll out more economically viable empowerment programmes for Deltans as he also highlighted the state’s consistency in the payment of salaries of a workforce of over 60,000 personnels between the 24th and 25th of every month, including the institutionalization of the payment 13th-month salary to workers
In healthcare, he noted that the state government has sustained free medical care for pregnant women and children under five years in all government hospitals, alongside upgrades of primary healthcare centres.
The Commissioner assured that the state will continue to strengthen fiscal discipline, invest heavily in infrastructure and its citizens as he drummed support for the re-election of Governor Sheriff, come 2027.
