Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Thursday presided over the foundation stone laying ceremony of the multi-Storey and multi-purpose Kwara Revenue House project in Ilorin, the state capital.
Titilayomi Ogunwale, who is the Head, Corporate Affairs, KW-IRS, noted in a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com that the project, when completed, will make it easy to accommodate all the staff of KW-IRS at a single building, apart from the Tax Offices in the state capital and across the state.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq described the proposed Kwara Revenue House project as a unique edifice that will contribute to the growth of the internally generated revenue and the economy of the state.
Represented by his deputy, Mr. Kayode Alabi, he also noted that the construction of a befitting Head Office Complex (Revenue House) will ease the daily activities of the agency and make tax operations efficient as much as possible, the synergy of working at close quarters, he added, had been absent at the agency for years now.
He described the edifice as one of its kind like many other multi-million constructions including the International Conference Centre, Ilorin Innovation Hub, the Visual Arts Centre amongst many other iconic projects ongoing in the state under his government which will not only serve as a single house for various departments of KW-IRS to carry out all tax- related activities faster and seamlessly, the building will also add to the emerging structure of Ilorin Business District around the Ahmadu Bello Way in Ilorin and improve the economic sustainability of the state.
Earlier, while giving her welcome speech, Executive Chairman, KW-IRS, Shade Omoniyi had expressed the revenue agency’s sincere appreciation to the governor while calling him a visionary leader and citing his dedication and commitment to the development of all sectors of the state.
‘The vision of this Revenue House was as a result of the need to accommodate all the staff at a single building with all the amenities befitting an IRS.
The staff population in KW-IRS stands at almost 1,000 with about 70% 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 organization’ she said.
The KW-IRS boss added that the proposed Revenue House project has gone through the standard process of procurement, bidding adding that the contractor engaged to handle the project has been duly scrutinized and chosen in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007, with needed support from both the Kwara State Public Procurement Agency and the Ministry of Housing & Urban Development.
Speaking about the funding for the project, Omoniyi disclosed that since the beginning of the AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq administration, KW-IRS only pays consultants for actual services rendered and captured on the systems of the agency, rather than making payment based on total collections by the state which was the case in the past.
This, she noted, has helped the agency to save funds that could have been made available to the consultants adding that with the support of Governor AbdulRazaq, the project will be completed within two years, with funding sourced from the savings over this period from consultancy fees.
Omoniyi also noted that the establishment of KW-IRS ‘is to carry out the sole responsibility of revenue mobilization for the strategic development of Kwara State through productive collaboration with the MDAs and stakeholders.
‘Unlike in the past where MDAs collect subvention or running cost directly from KW-IRS, this does not happen anymore.
Our responsibility is to collect and make revenues available to the IGR accounts of the state directly 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 revenue agency receives monthly subvention like all other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government to run its affairs’ she submitted.
Omoniyi further stated that the welfare of staff has been the priority of the current administration and this had made the management and Board of KW-IRS to embark on various welfare packages to bring out the best of productivity in the staff.
‘The agency knows that this is very vital in its quest to maintain the position of the most impactful MDA in the state’ the statement added.
The revenue agency will according to her continue to partner with the people of the state in the revenue drive for continued development of the state, while seeking continued understanding and support of all, and encouraging collaboration that brings more development to Kwara.
She appreciated the cooperation of the hardworking staff of KW-IRS, stakeholders, MDAs, institutions, professional bodies, State House of Assembly as well as the taxpayers for the attainment of increased revenue of 112% of the given target in the year 2022, with a strong hope to surpass last year’s IGR achievement.
In his remarks, Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Architect Aliyu Mohammed Saifuddeen, described the proposed Revenue House project as yet another product of a focus-driven leadership style of Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Giving their separate goodwill messages, the former Executive Chairman of the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR), Alhaji Mudashiru Oladapo, the President, Kwara State Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (KWACCIMA) Mr. Olalekan Ayodimeji and Chairman, House Committee on Finance & Appropriation, Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon. Ibrahim Ambali lauded the landmark initiative of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq since the inception of his administration.
The speakers took turns to recount the strategic growth and automation reforms through use of technology to block revenue leakages, enabling seamless revenue administration policies that had enhanced ease of doing business and the opportunity to improve the state’s IGR -Team@orientactualmags.com
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