The Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, recently performed the official ground-breaking ceremony of the construction of the multi-storey and multi-purpose Kwara Revenue House in Ilorin to accommodate all staff of KW-IRS in a single building, aside from the Tax Offices in the state capital and across the state.
According to AbdulRazaq, the proposed Kwara Revenue House is a unique edifice that will contribute to the growth of the internally generated revenue and the economy of the state when completed.
AbdulRazaq who was represented by Kayode Alabi, the state deputy governor, stated that the move will ease the daily activities of the agency and make tax operations efficient as much as possible, as the synergy of working at close quarters has been absent for years at the agency.
According to the governor, the new Revenue House will not only serve as a single house for various departments of the KW-IRS to carry out all tax related activities faster and seamlessly, but it is also a building that will add to the emerging structure of Ilorin Business District around the Ahmadu Bello Way in Ilorin and improve the economic sustainability of the state.
Shade Omoniyi, the executive chairman, KW-IRS, in her welcome address stated that the vision of this Revenue House came about as a result of the need to accommodate all staff in a single building with all the amenities befitting an IRS.
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“The staff population in KW-IRS stands at almost 1000 with about 70 percent located in the state capital spread around our three main offices as well as the Motor Licensing Authorities. Staff welfare, synergy, and interdepartmental relationships are quite vital to business operations, efficiency, and smooth running of the organisation,” Omoniyi stated.
According to her, the proposed Revenue House construction has gone through the standard process of procurement, bidding and the contractor engaged to execute the project has been duly scrutinized and appointed in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007, with needed support from both Kwara State public procurement agency and the ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
Omoniyi disclosed further that since the beginning of the AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led administration, KW-IRS only pays consultants for actual services rendered and captured on the systems of the Service, rather than making payment based on total collections by the state which was what was obtainable in the past.
She said this has helped the Service in saving funds that could have gone to consultants and with the support of the governor, the project is intended to be completed within two years, with funding sourced from the savings over this period from consultancy fees.
“Our responsibility is to collect directly into the IGR accounts of the State through the approved payment channels. We do not have any fiduciary control over these accounts. KW-IRS is a government agency and does not have the capacity to fund other government agencies. The Service receives monthly subvention, just as all other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government to run its affairs,” Omoniyi stated.
