Economy

KWIRS Generates N9.6bn in Q1 2021

Published

5 years ago

20/04/2021

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A total of N9.6 billion was generated in the first quarter of 2021 by the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS). This is the highest ever collected by the agency without any extraordinary item at any quarter since its founding in 2016.

At a news briefing in Ilorin, the state capital on Tuesday, the executive chairman of the agency, Ms Shade Omoniyi, attributed this feat to the adoption of technology, the steady blockage of leakages within the tax administration system and the deliberate steps taken to tackle multiple taxations.

“KWIRS, since inception, has operated a manual tax administration system. This means the assessment and collection of relevant taxes payable to the state government from both KWIRS and other MDAs are on a contract basis.

“Despite this, the service has recorded steady IGR growth over the years. Upon its assumption of office in October 2019, the agency’s new management began working tirelessly to sustain this momentum. These efforts culminated in the IGR growth from N23 billion as of September 30 to N30.7 billion as of the end of the year, 2019.

“The service did not rest on its oars as various revenue and cost-cutting initiatives were immediately implemented to shore up the state IGR while it worked assiduously to automate its revenue and tax administration processes.

“The various revenue leakage blockages paid off when in quarter one of 2020, the service generated N7 billion. However, with the spread of the COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown of the state by the government towards the end of March and up until May, the state IGR plummeted to N2 billion.

“Given that the state’s economy was greatly affected by the lockdown and the state’s collection system was still contact-based as at this time, it was only to be expected that no serious activities would happen in the revenue space for that period.

“It is also known that Kwara State was one of the states who followed the COVID-19 protocols fully which is a main factor for the Q2 2020 revenue performance.

“In addition, you may recall that the state was adjudged as one of the highest in performance and proactiveness in the fight against COVID-19 on all indices by various monitoring entities.

“Recently, there was a similar feat of the government in the administration of the COVID-19 vaccination where the state topped all other states.

“Notwithstanding, with the gradual easing of the lockdown, revenue generation by the service again shot up to N4 billion in Q3 2020 and N6 billion in the Q4 of 2020.

“Thus, it is made obvious that the low IGR figures in Q2 and Q3 and consequent dip in 2020 IGR performance are solely attributable to the COVID-19 incidence and our contact-based collection which proved quite ineffective while the lockdown lasted. These observations were enumerated in the quarterly revenue collections reports released by the service in the year 2020.

“The service has since then not stopped working round the clock to recover lost grounds. Thus, in the first quarter of 2021, KWIRS recorded an IGR of N9,598,504,939.90, the highest so far in the history of the service without an extraordinary item.

“Having mapped out strategies to achieving its IGR target for the current fiscal year, the first quarter collections show steady and significant growth, month-on-month as indicated below: January (2,984,312,074.60); February3,058,746,474.21; March 3,555,446,391.09, totalling 9,598,504,939.90.

“This feat of KW-IRS in Q1, 2021 was a great improvement over the N6,227,099,973.42 raked in the last quarter of 2020.

“It is a reflection of the relentless efforts of the service in bringing seamlessness to tax administration through automation and introduction of online payment platforms to ease payment of all taxes.

“It is also a reflection of the Harmonized Bill recently introduced to serve the following benefits among others: calculates, consolidates and communicates all payable tax revenue and non-tax revenue as applicable to each eligible taxpayer in the State, within any assessment year; brings all eligible businesses into the tax net; stops illegal negotiations between taxpayers and collectors in the ministries or KWIRS offices and prevents diversion of funds; displays all taxes due for payment by a particular taxpayer to block most of the leakages and educates on double and multiple taxations by showing that a single entity or taxpayer could be charged to different revenue lines depending on nature of business.

“In addition to the Harmonized Bill, other initiatives have been introduced. This includes re-profiling of our taxpayers, making mandatory the submission of schedules along with remittances; carrying out prompt enforcement on recalcitrant taxpayers, expansion of ticketing model for the informal sector etc.

“The remarkable growth in the 2021 first quarter IGR is equally an indication that the Kwara State Government continues in its efforts to ensure the economic activities of the state recovers fast from the crippling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The KWIRS, in spite of the drive to increase IGR, has not introduced new taxes since the inception of the administration of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq; the required and legitimate taxes due are what is being paid by taxpayers and collected appropriately into the coffers of the state.

“All revenue lines of the MDAs in Kwara State are same as approved and as provided by existing relevant laws.

“KWIRS will continue to work to ensure improvement in revenue generation; veritable support for the federal allocation to ensure the state government meets its responsibilities and the desires of Kwarans.

“The agency will also continue its collaboration with all MDAs and stakeholders in the state for effective and efficient collection of all that is legally due from taxpayers.

“The service will strategically and systematically play its part by using most appropriate technology and committed workforce for the growth of revenue for the state.”

Economy

FrieslandCampina Wamco, Three Others Raise NASD OTC Exchange by 1.41%

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.

During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.

Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.

As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.

During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units valued at N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Profit-taking Sinks Nigeria’s Equity Market by 0.76% as Bears Take Control

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.

The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.

The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.

Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.

The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.

Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.

Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Weakens to N1,371/$1 at Official Market

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The last trading session of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended on a negative note for the Naira on Friday, May 15, as it lost N15 Kobo or 0.1 per cent against the Dollar to trade at N1,371.04/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,370.89/$1.

However, it further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N20.77 to close at N1,830.61/£1 versus Thursday’s value of N1,851.38/£1, and gained N7.91 against the Euro to settle at N1,595.07/€1 versus N1,602.98/€1.

At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N2 against the US Dollar during the session to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,381/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.

The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid steady, higher oil receipts, with the ‌market settling ⁠into a balance.

Policy direction is also expected to give the market some boost as the CBN said the new edition of the FX market guidelines will deepen liquidity, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market.

According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the update is due to changing global economic realities, domestic reforms and the need for a more coherent and forward-looking regulatory framework. According to him, the last edition of the FX manual was issued in 2018, making the latest review both timely and necessary.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged into the red zone as rising bond yields hit risk assets across markets, while traders are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates again. Rising energy prices and resurging inflation could force central banks back into tightening mode.

Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.4 per cent to $0.2557, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 3.7 per cent to $0.1104, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.5 per cent to $87.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $659.64.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 2.6 per cent to $78,547.49, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.1 per cent to quote at $2,209.19, and TRON (TRX) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $0.3509, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.