Date: 2019-04-23

The Executive Chairman of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service,(KWIRS) Professor Muritala Olakitan Awodun has called on the incoming administration in the state to meet up with the initial target of five billion Naira monthly internal revenue study carried out by the Abdulfatah Ahmed administration.

Professor Awodun gave the charge in Ilorin the Kwara state capital while answering questions on a Radio Kwara personality interview programme "Playing Host".

According to him, the incoming government should improve upon the present monthly IGR of two billion naira the outgoing government is making as monthly internal generated revenue to five billion Naira which was the initial plan and study of the government.

"The study that was done before by the state government was that the government can do five billion Naira as IGR monthly but we know in an environment like Kwara we have to take things step by step but however, from the present two billion Naira now to five billion Naira is an assignment for the next administration and if that can be accomplished, the state will be in total control of its resources.

Professor Awodun added that if the five billion Naira target is met, the state will not be over dependent on what comes from the federal government because what the state will have internally will be above what we will expect from federal then the state can plan better.

The KWIRS boss who is an economist also implored the incoming administration to be more cautious of proper planning and implementation lamenting that we lack capacity in Nigeria not only in Kwara state.

According to him, a lot of people want the job but they can't do the work explaining that there is a difference between the job and the work so in getting a position, one thing is to be able to deliver and therefore urged the government to look for people who can work.

"For the survival of the government, the incoming government has no choice than to retain the KWRIS, though, do not necessarily need to work with the present set of workers.

Speaking on his achievements in the Agency since 2015, he disclosed that the total collection for the state was seven point two billion Naira which gave an average internally generated revenue per annum to six hundred million Naira at the end of 2018.

According to him, the total revenue collection annually has grown to twenty three billion Naira from seven point two billion Naira from an average of about two billion Naira monthly which can not be but fulfilling.

Professor Awodun added that the sixty two projects under construction by the present government were completed by the KWIRS under the Infrastructure Fund Kwara (IFK) model and even embarked on new projects .

He further disclosed that today, the revenue service can boast of nine hundred and forty four staff which has taken people who were out of job into the employment circle as it has a multiplier effect on the economy of the state.

Reacting to the relationship between local government councils in the state and the state internal revenue service on the memorandum of understanding they initially entered into in 2016, the chairman said that the relationship partially collapsed in 2017 when a new local government administration came on board when they decided to do direct deposit collections but said seven local governments areas had again written back to the KWIRS that they want to engage them for the collection of their taxes because according to the affected local governments, they have seen that their performances was nothing to right home about in terms of revenue collection.

Answering another question, Professor Awodun disclosed that his greatest regret after getting the job of KWIRS was that his getting Professorship was affected adding, "that's to me a regret because if I've not gotten this job in 2015, I was already on my way to where I will be offered the professorship but I have done well by my own standard in terms of starting the revenue service and for me, it is a four year appointment and I'm okay by it. He therefore said after his assignment in KWRIS, he would move on by going back to the classroom but not necessarily where he came from to fulfill his own purpose which is his zeal.

He commended the Nigerian media for the cordial relationship that has existed between him and the state revenue service and described the KWRIS has the first IRS in Nigeria to be ISO certified.