The Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Barr. Victor Muruako has praised the move by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to strengthen the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 (FRA).
Barr. Muruako gave this praise during an Interactive Session with the Senate Committee on Finance at the National Assembly.
He said, “Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) is a creation of Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 with the vision to promote transparent and accountable government financial framework for Nigeria.
“The core mandate is ensuring revenue-raising policies, resource allocation decisions and debt management decisions are undertaken in a prudent, transparent and timely fashion.”
The FRC boss expressed his happiness that the present administration has taken a bold step to strengthen the financial regulatory institutions for better results.
He acknowledged the efforts of Mr. President for coming up with the Presidential committee to strengthen the FRA, 2007 by way of amendment because according to him, part of the challenges of the Commission is that the Act has about 57 offenses but there is no punishment to ensure that the Act is not violated.
“As part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President, there are lots of improvements in those mechanisms that will make the foundation stronger and better for national appropriation going by the way the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) is being discussed this time unlike what it used to be in the past,” Muruako was quoted as saying in a statement signed by the Head, Strategic Communications Directorate, Mr. Bede Ogueri Anyanwu.
The FRC Chairman said stakeholders are now provided with the opportunity to make contributions to MTEF, a development he says is a good one as the key stakeholders are called to make input.
Barr. Muruako said that before now, public officers were violating the FRA, 2007 as if nothing would happen. “The Commission monitors and enforces remittances of revenue particularly in the area of independent revenue that has to do with operating surplus and IGR of the Federal Government,” he said. He noted that there has been an improvement from what it used to be after the emergence of the new government.
Those present at the Interactive Section include The Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Muhammed Sani Musa with other members of the Senate Committee on Finance, the Honourable Minister of Finance, Chief Adebayo Olawale Edun, the Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Zacch Adedeji, Executive Director, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq.