Gov Ahmed rates KWIRS best revenue agency in Nigeria
By Bukola Adama
Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has disclosed that the state revenue service had emerged the best growing revenue outfit across Nigeria and the best result – oriented in revenue generation in the northern part of the country.
The governor who dropped the hint while receiving traditional rulers from the Kwara South Senatorial District who paid him a courtesy call at the Government House, Ilorin, yesterday, said the state had recorded huge success in revenue generation.
Ahmed pointed out that there was still room for improvement and called on traditional rulers to champion the course of wooing their subjects to imbibe the habit of paying tax.
According to the governor, “For the reinvigoration of the state revenue service, we would had not have the capacity to pay salaries because Federal Allocation has since continued to be dwindling.
“The days of excess crude oil have gone, it now requires any state governor to think outside the box to excel and deliver on electioneering campaign promises”.
The governor who promised judicious application of tax payers money, said the revenue generated will be channeled to Infrastructure Development Fund (IF-K), to execute masses – oriented projects across the country.
He explained that he did not burden the state residents with additional tax but only improved the collection process and plug loopholes.
On the request for state government’s intervention on the payment of local government salary arrears, Ahmed said their problem emanated from the federal allocation which requires the intervention of the National Assembly.
The governor however enjoined monarchs in the state to maintain peace and order in their domain just as he urged that all differences on land disputes should be amicably resolved.
He noted that the history of land dispute is unending saying it is only the way and manner that it is being handled that determines peace.
He said one solution that is not acceptable to resolution of land dispute is violence stating that it is a criminal act which the law of the land does not support, adding that anybody found to be culpable in any act of violence will be made to face the full wrath of the law.
According to him, “We will continue to support our royal fathers in ensuring that they maintain security lives and property in all their facets of activities. We will try to support you with all necessary logistics that will make it easy for you to carry out these activities of maintaining lives and property and maintaining a very peaceful society for growth and development.
Earlier, leader of the delegation, Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II, said they were at the Government House to felicitate with the governor over the victory of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
The traditional ruler said though the Federal Government has gone to the Appeal Court but he believes that Saraki will end victorious. He however appealed for the state government’s intervention in clearing backlog of local government workers’ salaries, implementation of findings and recommendations of enquiries into communal clashes arising from land disputes in the state.