Kwara state Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) has given direct employment to 528 university graduates as tax collectors in the last six months.

Speaking on activities of the new revenue agency in Ilorin on Tuesday, the chairman of the KWIRS, Dr. Muritala Awodun, said about 2,000 direct and indirect jobs had been created to improve tax collection and administration in the state.

The KWIRS boss, who said that the agency also planned to recruit more qualified hands, added that the step would assist in covering more areas for more achievement.

He also said that the revenue agency had collected about N8.09 billion between January and June, as against N7.2 billion realised by the former internal board of revenue for whole of 2015.

Dr. Awodun, who reiterated that the revenue agency had not introduced new taxes nor intended to inflict burden on residents, said that it had only intensified efforts to block leakages and correct under-accounting/under deduction of revenue being collected by some ministries, parastatals and tertiary institutions in the state.

He identified some of the challenges facing the organisation to include rumour peddling against activities of the agency, sharp practices among some ministries' officials, and resistance by people.