By Kayode Abdulazeez
The management of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service, KWIRS, has disclosed that it has saved the government N3.9billion that would have been expended on consultancies
as it was being practised by the past management.
Said the taxpayers’ whooping sum was saved in the last three years.
In a statement issued in Ilorin, the Head, of Corporate Affairs of KWIRS, Titilayomi Ogunwale, explained that the service, within the ambit of the law, has not stopped engaging consultancy firms as applicable to revenue agencies in the world but going about it in more prudent and transparent way.
The statement said the savings from what was paid as consultancy prior to the present administration are being ploughed back to the public treasury for investment and development projects.
The statement read in part “KWIRS will not be distracted- Management”, the service added that it was not unaware of conspiracies to sully its image through propaganda and false equivalence with the commencement of the political campaigns, vowing that it would not succumb to lies and blackmail of any kind.
“The Management of Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS) is appalled by the weight of bile and determination of some persons to rubbish the Service for their selfish gains. However, what keeps us above the malicious intent and envy is our professionalism, transparency, and the huge gains so far made in raising the bar in revenue generation and good ethics.
“A report in an online medium purporting some imaginary mismanagement of any funds is an exercise in futility. Unlike in the previous regime, KW-IRS is today subject to strict fiscal discipline and monitoring at higher levels. It does not control its spending nor does it handle any funds anymore. This is an improvement in prudence, transparency and accountability.
“While the Service still lawfully engages consultancy firms like all revenue agencies in the world, the management is proud to have ended the era of bogus and often-opaque consultancy fees of the past. Within the past three years alone, the KW-IRS has saved taxpayers a humongous N3.9billion (Three Billion, Nine Hundred Million Naira Only) in what could have gone to consultancies of all kinds if the former platforms had been retained.
“The savings from what was paid as consultancy before are now ploughed back to the public treasury for investment and development projects. It is this transparency and patriotic act of the present Management that are being twisted by the detractors who are not used to such culture.
“The Executive Chairman and Management Team of KW-IRS have made corporate governance and due diligence their watchwords, and will continue to enforce the doctrine to the letter in public interest.
“This possibly explains the relentless attacks on the government and KW-IRS. We are not deterred.
“The Service is aware of the vast network of conspiracies to sully its image through propaganda and false equivalence as political campaigns begin. However, we shall remain true to our commitments to raise the bar in our service to the people of Kwara State without compromising the law or our ethics. We will not succumb to lies and blackmail of any kind.
“Members of the public are by this statement enjoined to ignore the falsehoods, join hands to build a more prosperous Kwara, and continue to play their lawful part of tax payment as and when due to support the developmental agenda of the government”.
