Kwara State’s internally generated revenue (IGR) rose from N69.19 billion in 2024 to N92.19 billion in 2025, driven in part by an expansion of the taxpayer base and improvements in tax administration.
The Executive Chairman of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS), Shade Omoniyi, disclosed this on Wednesday during the commissioning of the agency’s 11-storey office complex, Revenue House, in Ilorin.
Omoniyi said the number of taxpayer records held by the agency had increased from fewer than 50,000 when she assumed office to more than 1.4 million. She said the state’s IGR had also risen from N35.45 billion in 2022 to N56.42 billion in 2023, N69.19 billion in 2024 and N92.19 billion in 2025.
She attributed the growth to improved technology, expanded data collection and efforts to build public confidence in the tax system. According to her, the agency is shifting from a system focused largely on enforcement to one that encourages voluntary compliance.
“Data is key to ensure that I have all the information I need as far as how to assess you. I don’t want to over-assess you. I don’t want to under-assess you either,” she said.
Omoniyi said the expanded taxpayer database would help the agency assess taxpayers more accurately and reduce the need for repeated visits to government offices. She added that the new Revenue House was built to bring key departments previously operating from different locations in Ilorin under one roof.
The building is expected to accommodate about 600 staff and provide a one-stop centre for taxpayers. Its facilities include a banking hall, e-Centre, vehicle and driver’s licence services, a crèche, gym, restaurant and rentable spaces.
Omoniyi said the project was funded partly from savings generated after the agency reviewed its arrangements with revenue consultants. She said the new payment structure, based on services rendered rather than total revenue collected, enabled the agency to save about N3.9 billion by the end of 2022, with the funds reported to the state government.
She also clarified that KW-IRS does not control the revenue it collects on behalf of the state. “I’m not a signatory to the IGR account,” she said, explaining that the agency’s responsibility is to assess, collect and account for revenue before the funds are paid into the state government’s IGR account.
The chairman said the agency was also expanding the automation of revenue collection and had eliminated cash payments in several government facilities, including hospitals. She said the long-term goal was to make services available at Revenue House accessible to taxpayers across all 16 local government areas through technology.
Omoniyi acknowledged that enforcement operations can sometimes face resistance, citing a recent revenue enforcement exercise involving landlords in Malete. She said the exercise was conducted while students were away because it targeted landlords rather than students, adding that greater public understanding of the tax system would help strengthen voluntary compliance.
