Kwara rakes N6.279b revenue in three months

Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) says that it has accrued a total sum of N6.279 billion as revenue generated in the first quarter of 2019.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Thursday, the executive chairman of the revenue agency, Professor Muritala Awodun, said that the agency generated N2.16 billion in January, N1.76 billion in February and N2.38 billion in March 2019.

The KWIRS boss, who said that the revenue agency was yet to achieve its target of generating an annual N60 billion revenue of N5 billion monthly, however, said that the service has been developed to a point that it would not make less than an average of N2 billion every month.

Professor Awodun said 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.

He said that inauguration of the agency in 2016 had prevented abandoned projects in the state with monthly contribution of N500million into the state infrastructure fund (IF-K) for completion and initiation of new infrastructural projects.

Professor Awodun, who said that the state government had augmented monthly federal allocation with proceeds of the revenue agency to pay workers salary, added that the measure was made possible through ingenious financial engineering of the agency.

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Speaking on delay in completion of ongoing under-pass project in the Ilorin metropolis, Professor Awodun said that delay was brought about by complications that were not initially factored in the project, including 2019 electioneering activities.

He said that some heavy underground water pipes were discovered on the construction site, adding that the contractor had to depend on other experts for technicalities before work could resume on the project.

He also debunked speculation over alleged invitation of staff of the revenue agency by the Economic and Financial Crime and other related offences Commission (EFCC) on financial investigations, saying that no staff of the agency was invited for arrested by the antigraft agency.