14/08/2025
‘Kwara’s IGR...IGR per capita, ICT Infrastructure, soars high per Philips Consulting, states PSPI national assessment 2025 report, says Prof. Awodun
By: The Elites Watch Online Newspaper| August 14, 2025.
A Chief Revenue Consultant and immediate past Executive Chairman of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS), Prof. Muritala Awodun, has stated that the strides achieved by the state in terms of its internally generated revenue ditto per capital, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure is crucial to driving socioeconomic development and good governance in Kwara.
Awodun, who spoke as a guest on Sobi FM in Ilorin on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, analyzed the 2025 Phillips Consulting State Performance Index (PSPI) with a particular focus on Kwara State, as recently released by the global economic and management firm.
The state performance index report was conducted by Phillips Consulting (pcl) across the 36 Nigerian states, including the Federal Capital Territory.
According to Professor Awodun, harnessing the power of the rise in the state's internally generated revenue and digital infrastructure, otherwise known as Information Communication Technology (ICT), can significantly improve the level of governance in Kwara and provide better services to the citizens of the state.
He said the report provides insights into the socioeconomic performance and risk profiles of all Nigerian states, asserting that the report's objective assessment, he believes, should not be taken for granted by any state.
Out of several parameter indices in the Phillips Consulting PSPI report, 2 out of the 3 areas of strength were identified for Kwara State, namely the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) per capita and ICT infrastructure.
His words, “By harnessing the power of digital infrastructure, otherwise known as ICT, Kwara state can improve its performance in terms of governance and provide better services to the citizens. According to Phillips Consulting's state performance index, in terms of ICT infrastructure, Kwara is highly rated on this parameter, and that provides us with the opportunity to use it to drive socio-economic development, enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency in governance.”
The Professor of Business and Entrepreneurship, while commenting on Kwara's strong IGR ranking, which put the state as number 5 in terms of IGR per capita, attributed the strides to the successful revenue reforms implemented under his watch as the pioneer chairman of the reformed Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS), between 2015 and 2019, and the subsequent good work of his successor.
He noted that the solid foundation laid then, through the implementation of the Kwara Revenue Administration Law of 2015, in consideration of the people, process, and technology improvements, has geared Kwara state from a lowly 28 position on total IGR to top 10 position, which he said has consistently been sustained years after he had completed his tenure.
Awodun further stressed that Kwara State has been ranked fifth in terms of Internally Generated Revenue per capita since 2016, and has maintained that position till date.
Providing further insights, He said, “When we talk of the IGR per capita, Kwara has maintained this fifth position, consistently over the past eleven years till date. For a layman, IGR per capita means dividing the total IGR generated by the number of citizens/population. I think these are viable strengths for our dear state in terms of state-level performances. It is soothing that Kwara has not dropped from the recent rankings.”
When quizzed on the objectivity of the Phillips consulting performance index report, Awodun, who served on the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms (PCFPTR) that birthed the National Tax Acts, said the assessment was based on verifiable data from objective feedback across the strata of government, adding that Nigerian states must genuinely be guided by this report for national development.
"As the world evolves, verifiable data from objective feedback across the Nigerian states is crucial for national development. That is why the Phillips consulting state-level performance index must not be ignored. For instance, in terms of public teacher availability (quantity), Kwara ranks high, but it ranks low in terms of quality of teaching. These are things you can quantify in terms of the employability of products of our public educational institutions.
“Considering our areas of weakness in Kwara, the assessment of honesty of public servants gave us the worst ranking per Phillips Consulting reports; Kwara is ranked number 36 out of 37. On the quality and quantity of roads, Kwara ranked 28.”
In his analysis of road infrastructure parameters in Kwara, Professor Awodun said one may be tempted to quickly contest this, but "when you realize that it is not only Ilorin that makes up Kwara State, and the huge disparity of distribution of road infrastructure, then you will come to agree with the report.
“In terms of security of lives and properties, Kwara is ranked number 20. In terms of the quality of primary and secondary schools, Kwara is ranked number 21. In terms of the affordability of public hospitals, Kwara is ranked 26. In terms of awareness of government policies and programmes, Kwara is ranked 27. Government support for local businesses in Kwara is ranked 27. Affordability of safe public transport, Kwara is ranked 27, and the rankings go on like that.”
Meanwhile, the erstwhile KWIRS boss has appealed to the Kwara state government to essentially invest and leverage on the strong ICT infrastructure ranking to enhance governance, in all areas, as well as transparency and accountability, for the state to remain relevant and competitive amongst the comity of states.
