Correlates, state government finances, Nigerian economy, Gross Domestic Products

This study investigated the correlate of state government finances and the Nigerian economy. To achieve this purpose research question was raised, a review of literature was made and a hypothesis was developed. In generating the necessary data for the study, state government finances was operationalized as state internally generated revenue while the Nigerian economy was measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The records were obtained from the Central Bank of Nigerian Statistical Bulletin of various years. In analyzing the data generated from this study, the simple percentages and regression analysis were adopted . The result of our analysis indicates that from 2010 to 2014, the percentage of SIGR to GDP is 41.64%, which means that the degree of state government finances in Nigeria is low. On the relationship between state government finances and the Nigerian economy, the analysis shows a correlation co-efficient of 0.493 and a p-value of 0.965. This suggests that though a moderate relationship exists between state government finances and the Nigerian economy, the impact is insignificant. Based on these findings, it is recommended that state governments in Nigeria should intensify efforts in their revenue mobilization and ensure that all sources of revenue stipulated in the 1999 constitution are adequately tapped. This in the long-run has the potential to bring about financial independence.