Kwara State revenue surges with leadership and reform
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
In Kwara State, Nigeria, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq appointed Shade Omoniyi as Executive Chairman of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS) in October 2019, initiating a significant overhaul of the state’s revenue administration.
Omoniyi shifted the focus from simply collecting taxes to building a modern system based on data, technology, and taxpayer convenience. This involved restructuring the organisation, expanding its reach with new area offices, and implementing digital tools like Project Phoenix and a Self-Service Portal.
The changes yielded substantial results. KW-IRS increased internally generated revenue from ₦30.65 billion in 2019 to ₦92.19 billion in 2025, despite a temporary dip during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond increasing revenue, the service also focused on cost control, saving over ₦6 billion through contract reviews and improved efficiency. The culmination of this transformation is the newly constructed Kwara Revenue House in Ilorin, a building designed to reflect the modern, technology-driven approach to revenue administration.
Governor AbdulRazaq reappointed Omoniyi for a second term in 2023, recognizing the importance of continued leadership in sustaining these improvements and positioning Kwara as a model for other states in Nigeria.
