KW-IRS Tax Quiz Competition: GSS Lafiagi Emerges Overall Winner
* Wins N2.5m Grand Prize
Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
The Government Secondary School, Lafiagi, in the Edu Local Government Area of Kwara State, has again emerged the overall winner of the annual tax quiz competition of the Kwara Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS), winning a grand prize of N2.5 Million.
This was the second time the school would emerge as the overall winner of the competition as it did in year 2025.
Saint Anthony’s Secondary School, Ilorin, came second with the prize of N1.5 Million, while Ebenezer High School, Ilorin, was third with a prize of N1 Million.
For the student participants’ prize, overall winner went home with N500,000, second position got N375,000, while the third position received N200,000. Their teachers got N150,000, N100,000 and N50,000 respectively.
Speaking at the grand finale, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said: “At the time Nigeria is implementing significant tax reforms to strengthen revenue administration, promote fairness, and improve compliance, the importance of early tax education cannot be overstated. Young people must understand that taxation is not merely about the payment of taxes as it is also about the collective responsibility of citizens to support the provision of public infrastructure, social services, and other essential amenities required for sustainable development.”
The Governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Dr Lawal Olohungbebe, noted that over the years, the competition has evolved into an important platform for promoting tax education and deepening students’ understanding of taxation, public finance, and the role of citizens in governance, adding that beyond the excitement of the competition, it provides an opportunity to equip young people with the knowledge and values they need to contribute meaningfully to the development of Kwara State and Nigeria at large.
AbdulRazaq added: “Our administration remains committed to building a State where opportunities for learning, innovation, and personal development are accessible to our young people as they recognise that education and human capital development are critical pillars of sustainable growth. And we will continue to support initiatives that equip our students with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to succeed in an increasingly competitive world.”
Earlier, the Chairman of the Kwara Internal Revenue Service, Mrs Shade Omoniyi, had enjoined the participants to value the knowledge gained through this competition, adding that the experience should inspire them to aim higher, while to encouraging students generally to remain committed to their studies, continue to develop “your talents, and believe that with hard work and perseverance, the possibilities before you are limitless”.
She said: “Competition is one of the initiatives of KWIRS under the 5Es Community Impact Programs (CIPs) under Education as the programme is designed to nurture a generation of tax-compliant citizens by introducing students to the fundamentals of taxation while they are still in school. Our objective is to help them understand that tax education is a civic responsibility and an important contribution to the provision of public infrastructure and services, as well as the sustainable development of our State.
“The competition also provides an opportunity for students to build confidence, sharpen their critical-thinking skills and learn the value of healthy competition, hoping that the lessons gained here will stay with them as they progress through their education and into adulthood.”
One of the royal fathers present at the event, the Olofa of Offa, Oba Muftau Gbadamosi Esuwoye, said: “The level of educational advancement of the people of Kwara State had saved the State from sliding into the list of states with high poverty index.
“The recent ranking of 20 States in Nigeria with high poverty index which exonerated Kwara State was the result of the tlevel of educational advancement of the people of the State and it’s due to government investments in the sector.”
The monarch, who said he was excited by the recent ranking of the State as a low poverty status one, urged stakeholders in the State to support educational development of the younger generation to further guarantee the future of the State.
