Date: 2017-01-31

To further improve on socio-economic and infrastructural development in Kwara State, citizens have been implored to take tax payment serious and compulsory.

Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed stated this in Ilorin at a breakfast meeting with heads of ministries, departments, agencies and parastatals (MDAs) of government in the state.

The programme was organised by Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) to intimate members of the public on the performance drive of each state's MDAs.

Governor Ahmed said, "Tax payment is compulsory because it is the major source of development. The federal revenue allocations to the 36 states of the federation keep shrinking and had opened up the eyes of states on the need to look inward for revenue generations in the country."

The governor, who appealed to the people to submit themselves to tax audit management as a way of improving the internally generated revenue, advocated that all hands must be on deck to ensure proper collection of taxes and revenues through the various MDAs of government so as to bring necessary development to the people.

The governor also asked the MDAs and other parastatals to play their roles to improve upon their corporate responsibilities and proper documentation for easy tax collection process, assuring that judicious use of collected revenues from masses would be channel to people-oriented projects and programmes.

He said, "The MDAs must be honest and transparent in the collection of taxes for the overall benefit of the state.

"The development would go a long way towards assisting the government to have enough revenue to develop the state, as era of waiting for federal revenue allocations every month to plan for the provision of programmes is no more feasible in the face of governance."

The governor, who reiterated the commitment of his administration to ensure equal development to all the 16 councils in the state, stressed that heads of departments, agencies and parastatals must buckle up in the efforts of generating revenue for the overall growth of the state.

The state will soon enjoy tax reward through the improvement of infrastructure such as schools, water and roads, among others, he said, saying, "very soon, we are going to embark on setting up a new secretariat where we have ministry of energy, ministry of water resources and the rest. We will ensure that capital projects are carried out."

Earlier in his address, Muritala Awodun, chairman, KWRIS, enumerated the steps the revenue agency had taken over the collection of revenues and taxes in the state.

According to Awodun, the revenue agency had increased the revenue collection from N7.1 billion as of 20015 to N17.5 billion.

The increment in revenue collection, he said, had assisted the state in meeting its needs in the provision of socio-economic development programmes, especially in the offsetting of salary of workers.

He expressed appreciation to the heads of the MDAs among others for mutual cooperation, saying KWIRS was in learning process and was determined to improve on effective performance with a view to serve Kwarans better.