By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin.
The Kwara State Government has garnered an Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, of N25.5bn in the first three months of this year, making 16% appreciation as against N21.5bn generated in the period of 2024.
Presenting the fiscal performance sheet of Government during a two-day Inter-Ministerial and Agencies for Q1 of 2025, Commissioner for Finance; Dr. Hauwa Nuru said government was able to record the feat because of its effective investment strategies and tax reforms designed to reduce reliance on federal allocations
According to her, the performance was also due to the commitment to financial autonomy and sustainable economic development of the government.
Dr. Nuru added that Kwara State also secured over $85 million in performance-based grants under the World Bank’s Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme, ranking Kwara among the top-performing states nationwide within the period under review.
The score card of government she said also included a 45.8% reduction in the state’s domestic debt stock as one of the most sustainable debt profiles in Nigeria pointing out that key fiscal indicators remain within sustainable thresholds, reinforcing the state’s sound financial standing.
She reported a convincing culture of prompt of salary and pensions payment to workers but pleaded with both State and Local Government workers to as well as the retirees partake in the ongoing Kwara State Residents Registration Agency (KWSRRA) exercise to avoid payment disruptions.
Also, Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Hajia Sa’adatu Kawu said government by its education policies have focused on practical, job-oriented education that empowers young people and expands access to knowledge, citing the sponsorship of 200 youths under Batch ‘8’ of the Kwara Youth Empowerment and Employment Generation Scheme (KWYEEGS), at the government’s International Vocational, Technical and Entrepreneurship College (IVTEC), located at Ajase-Ipo.
Modibbo Kawu, also announced that the newly established Kwara State University of Education, had secured accreditation for 20 academic programmes and has been listed on the JAMB portal, a key milestone in its development.
Also, the Commissioner said the International Aviation College in Ilorin, the State capital graduated 19 pilots made up of 10 military and 9 civilians in the last quarter of 2024, while two aircraft engineers and one flight instructor received international training in South Africa.
“These are strategic investments that reinforce Kwara’s place in the aviation sector,” she boasted.
Meanwhile, General Manager of the Kwara State Social Investment Programme, (KWASSIP) Dr Abdulwasiu Olayinka Tejidini, in his submission said gave the agency was planning to extend its safety net to accommodate and financially support more households and communities across the sixteen Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
According to him, the social investment programme as an integral part of the positive-minded government of the state created the outfit to provide avenue coukd be used in alleviating poverty and social inequality in the state and the country at large.
He disclosed that KWASSIP reached out to 20,000 individuals engaging in skilled and unskilled labour across the state to boost their productivity and stability with the sum of Twenty Thousand Naira (₦20,000) each in addition to petty traders who also got N20,000 each.
He also told the press briefing that a Household Support Programme of the agency rolled out between January and March, a Financial Assistance Scheme which captured 7,000 households that benefited ₦100,000 each.