The Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) has vowed to continue to grow the state revenue generation for sustainable development as the Revenue Board generated N6.279 billion internally for the first quarter (Q1) of the year 2019.
Muritala Awodun, a Professor of International Business and Entrepreneurship, who is the Executive Chairman of KWIRS, gave the breakdown of N6.279 billion revenue generated internally within three months to include N2.16 billion made in January; N1.76 billion revenue generated in February and N2.38 billion internally generated revenue for the month of March 2019.
While attributing the feats achieved in the state revenue drive to quality training and retraining the staff as well as the total manpower development, advised the incoming administration to sustain the revenue growth tempo, saying: “If you don’t equip them appropriately, you can’t get required and adequate result”.
The KWIRS boss, who stated that the revenue agency was yet to achieve its target of generating an annual N60 billion revenue of N5 billion monthly, noted that the Service has been developed to a point that would not make less than an average of N2 billion every month.
Awodun explained that the agency, which started with N17.2 billion annual revenue generation in 2016, and N19.6 in 2017 and generated a total sum of N23.1 billion last year.
Awodun, however, debunked allegation of invitation of the revenue agency by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on perceived financial misconduct and investigation of its operations, saying no staff of the agency was invited for interrogation nor arrested by the anti graft agency.
He clarified that the agency responsibility is basically on the collection of revenue which is always remitted to the bank and the agency has no access to the government accounts since it is not a signatory to the state account.
SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin
