Kano Boosts IGR Through Automated Revenue Collection, Wins Leadership Award

The Executive Chairman, Kano State Internal Revenue Service, (KSIRS)Abdurrazak Datti Salihi, has said the introduction of automated revenue collection system has improved the internally Generated Revenue in the state,as well as checked corruption.

The state was also recognized as one of 12 Best Performing States In Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)in the country with an award by the Chairman of the Alford Conferences Limited, Frederick Apeji.

Alhaji Salihi however added that the COVID-19 pandemic badly affecred IGR received by the state as economic activities were slow.

He made the assertion on Tuesday , during the visit of Apeji in Kano.

Apeji was in the state to give award to the agency for being among 12 most independent states in revenue generation in 2019/2020.

According to him, despite what the state is passing through, the revenue being generated ,has increased by 400-500 percent ,because tax payers were paying willingly because they see the projects being executed with their taxes.

Automation has also made it easy for them to pay their taxes from the comfort of their homes or offices.

He said that the award would spur him to do more for Kano and increase the IGR.

He disclosed further that he had put in place an automated revenue collection system in the state, which he would improve upon to double revenue collections.

He added that a lot of sensitisation would be carried out on levies and tax collection to make Kano traders collaborate with the board in order to make the state greater in commercial and industrial activities.

“We shall be showing to Kano people, on a regular basis, how we utilise our IGR. This will encourage them to pay their taxes as and when due,” Salihi said.

,Chairman of the Alford Conferences Limited commended the agency for generating 38.98 percent of the state revenue internally.

“We are here to honour Salihi, the Executive Chairman of Kano State Internal Revenue Service (KIRS), because the agency of which he is the head is one of the top 12 most independent states in revenues in Nigeria in 2019.

” Among the FCT and 36 states of Nigeria, Kano was the 11th most independent in total revenue last year, with 32.98 percent of all its revenues generated internally,” he said.

Apeji disclosed that the IRS executive bosses of Lagos, Ogun, FCT, Rivers, Osun, Kwara, Kaduna, Cross River, Enugu, Ondo, and Anambra also won the award.

It was gathered that last year, 34 states in Nigeria depended on the Federation Account for more than 50 percent of their entire revenues.

Last month, the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Engr. Elias Mbam, warned that the states’ dependence on the Federal Government had overstretched the Federation Account, and urged state governments to develop strategies of boosting their internal revenues, as less money would be coming to the states henceforth.

Riding on Mbam’s warning, Apeji said, the need for each state to look inwards and come up with strategies to grow its IGR has become very critical.

“As part of our response to this critical national need, we have created Nigerian States IGR Summit, an annual conference designed to encourage and foster a healthy competition among the FCT and the 36 states of Nigeria in order to substantially increase their internally generated revenue (IGR),” he said.