…As Lady Hannah Model Secondary School Awada Obosi Emerges As Overall Winner
By Mmaduabuchi Onwumelu
The maiden edition of the Anambra Internal Revenue Service (AIRS), Schools Tax Competition (ASTC), organised for all Private Secondary Schools in the State, has ended in Awka, the Anambra State Capital, with Lady Hannah Model Secondary School, Awada, Obosi, emerging the overall winner, while Grace Court Secondary School, Awka, and Marist Comprehensive Secondary School, Nteje, took 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
Addressing the competing schools, students, tutors, and stakeholders during the closing ceremony of the week long maiden edition of the Schools Tax Competition, the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, charged Ndi Anambra to make tax payment a civil responsibility, saying that prompt payment of taxes would enable the government of the day deliver on its mandate.
Governor Soludo who was represented at the occasion by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Ernest Ezeajughi, assured the people that the tax money would be used judiciously to develop and actualize his vision of making Anambra a livable and prosperous state in Nigeria.
The governor noted that the competition underlined the importance of financial literacy and the role young minds played in shaping the economy.
He said the AIRS Schools Tax Quiz Competition was not just a contest but an educational platform that nurtured a crucial cultural legacy and empowered young minds with knowledge about taxation, finance and economics.
He said the government under his leadership would continue to invest in the education and empowerment of the youth so that they could become responsible citizens who contributed to the well-being of society.
While commending the organisers of the competition, especially, his Senior Special Adviser on IGR-TECHNICAL, Oyeka Amara-Kate, for the initiative, the Governor also urged the students and other participants to extend what they had learnt from the programme to their parents and neighbours in their various homes and communities.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of the Anambra Internal Revenue Service (AIRS), Chief Greg Ezeilo, said the Revenue agency under his watch would continually engage all relevant stakeholders, including the schools, on the importance of paying tax through awareness campaigns.
He stressed that with the use of the four-pillars of the State AIRS, which include; Technology, continuous awareness campaign, revenue expansion and gap bridges, the revenue generating body in no distant time would begin to generate 10 billion Naira every month to the State Government’s purse.
Ezeilo commended Governor Soludo for his commitment to fulfilling his campaign promises to Ndi Anambra, particularly in the area of infrastructural development, stating that the Governor’s proactive leadership was positioning Anambra as a model for other states in Nigeria.
For her part, the convener and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on IGR-TECHNICAL, Oyeka Amara Kate, thanked the Governor for ensuring the success of the event, adding that the competition would be holding annually to keep the students informed about the importance of tax payment to the nation’s development.
The event which took place at the SSG Conference Hall, Government House, Awka, on Thursday, 21st November, had “Increasing Tax Awareness in Tomorrow’s Leaders”, as its theme, and saw Lady Hannah International School, Awada-Onitsha as the winner of the 2024 Edition. Grace Court International School claimed the second position, while Maris Comprehensive College came third.
Presentation of various items, including cash prizes and trophies to the winning schools, and photographs formed the highpoints of the event.