Economy
KWIRS Generates N9.6bn in Q1 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.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Analysts at Coronation Asset Management have predicted that the July 2026 inflation rate should come at 15.80 per cent, lower than the 15.91 per cent recorded in June 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release the actual rate today, Monday, August 17.
Coronation explained that it projected a pullback in the rate because of “three primary forces: a fresh energy price shock stemming from renewed Strait of Hormuz hostilities and a domestic refinery pricing disruption, seasonal harvest-related relief on food prices, and continued relative exchange rate stability.”
The organisation noted that the disinflation trend in the first half of the year remained last month, with the fuel price shock denting the pace of improvement rather than reversing it.
Regarding energy prices, Coronation reported that prices were stable in July, although this coincided with Dangote Refinery’s brief switch to dollar-denominated PMS pricing between July 13 and 22, which sharply reset ex-depot prices higher before naira-based sales resumed at N1,215 per litre following government intervention.
As for the exchange rate, it was also stable last month between N1,362/$1 and N1,383/$1 at the official market.
However, Coronation stressed that the month-on-month inflation may stay marginally firmer into August as the fuel price shock continues to pass through transport, logistics and services pricing, before the year-on-year rate resumes a steadier easing bias in September–October, conditional on Hormuz tensions not escalating further and Dangote Refinery maintaining naira-based pricing.
But it warned that a renewed dollar-pricing episode or a sustained Brent move above $95 per barrel would risk pushing the year-on-year print back toward 16.5 per cent to 17.0 per cent, while a durable de-escalation could see it drift toward 15.0 per cent to 15.3 per cent by October.
“For policy determination, this reinforces our view that the resumption of MPC rate cuts is unlikely before Q4 2026 at the earliest. The MPR has held at 26.50 per cent since February, and we expect the committee to maintain that stance through its next meeting, with any easing conditional on both core inflation turning over and energy-driven cost pressures visibly fading.
“We continue to favour the front end of the curve (1Y T-Bills) over 5–10-year bond instruments, where investors positioning for an early start to a sustained easing cycle may need to defer that thesis further,” their analysts stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Cameroon have won their first CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) with a 3-0 victory over tournament debutant Malawi on Sunday evening at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, Morocco.
A brace from Marie Ngah Manga and a goal from Naomi Eto, all scored in the first half, secured the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon’s first continental trophy. They previously made the WAFCON final in 2004, 2014 and 2016, but lost all three to Nigeria.
As a result of the win, Cameroon will receive $2 million in prize money from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), double the prize pot from the 2025 WAFCON. Malawi will receive $750,000 as finalists.
Cameroon becomes the fourth nation to win the tournament alongside Nigeria, which has won it a record 10 times, Equatorial Guinea twice, and South Africa once.
The final was a thumping victory for the Lionesses despite expectations of a dual Malawian threat of Chawinga sisters Temwa and Tabitha. The Scorchers were unable to match Cameroon’s technical precision in the midfield nor their tenacity in front of goal.
The victory is also inspiring as Cameroon did not initially qualify for the tournament but was admitted last November as the result of a spontaneous decision by CAF to expand the WAFCON format from 12 teams to 16 for the first time. Mali, Ivory Coast and Egypt were also admitted by the expansion due to their high rankings by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).
The tournament was a shining light for goalkeeper Michaely Bihina as the 22-year-old Benfica product proved instrumental in Cameroon’s eventual triumph in Morocco. In the quarter-finals against Nigeria, she denied the Super Falcons the chance to equalise, while against Morocco in the WAFCON semifinals, she was solid between the sticks — saving a penalty in full time and then going on to be superb in a shootout against host Morocco.
Cameroon will be joined by Malawi, Algeria, and Morocco as Africa’s representatives at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. Ghana and South Africa have also qualified for the international play-offs.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Five securities pulled down the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.72 per cent on Friday, August 14, cutting the market capitalisation by N47.04 billion to N2.689 trillion from N2.727 trillion, and slicing the NASD Security Index (NSI) by 78.37 points to 4,465.83 from 4,532.03 points.
11 Plc led the price decliners yesterday after its price went down by N15.03 to N230.00 per share from N245.03 per share. MRS Oil Plc weakened by N13.20 to N118.80 per unit from N132.00 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc slid by N10.30 to N99.46 per share from N109.76 per share, Okitipupa Plc fell by N6.99 to N270.01 per unit from N277.00 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc dipped by N2.00 to N20.00 per share from N22.00 per share.
Business Post reports that the OTC securities exchange recorded four gainers during the session, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which appreciated by N9.85 to N169.85 per unit from N160.00 per unit. IPWA Plc gained 70 Kobo to close at N10.41 per share versus N9.71 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc rose by 4 Kobo to 54 Kobo per unit from 50 Kobo per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc improved by 1 Kobo to N2.06 per share from N2.05 per share.
The volume of trades soared by 64.8 per cent to 3.2 million units from the previous session’s 1.9 million units, the value of transactions jumped by 78.2 per cent to N375.7 million from N210.8 million, and the number of deals surged by 35.3 per cent to 46 deals from 34 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 79.0 million units exchanged for N5.7 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
