Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Mr. Victor Muruako
By TOM CHIAHEMEN, Abuja –
Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Mr. Victor Muruako, has warned that unless there is a drastic review of the nation’s fiscal commission laws, its abuse by government agencies will not be checked.
Muruako made the remarks at a media parley organised by Order Paper Advocacy Initiative and its partners on Wednesday in Abuja.
Decrying the “utter non – compliance with the laws regulating public finance in Nigeria,” Muruako said this has led to a “nonchalant attitude towards remittance of public funds by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs),” because of the lack of sanctions for failure in the law as it is.
“If the Federal Responsibility Act (FRA) for instance is reviewed with emphasis on sanctions, public office holders will sit up,” he asserted.
Pointing out that alot of damage was done when the aspect regarding sanctions for non-remittance was pulled out of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the Chairman emphasized the “urgent need to review the act.”
Muruakor also stressed the need to ensure that funds are not at the beck and call of officials, adding that borrowing limits should be set and strictly adhered to.
“If Nigerians demanded the strict implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, most of the challenges in public finance management will be solved,” Muruako said
Speaking earlier, Mr Okey Epia, Executive Director, OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative, said the occasion was meant to present two baseline reports while executing the GIFT Nigeria Project.
The reports include: ‘Mainstreaming Fiscal Responsibility in Nigeria’s Petroleum Sector – A policy brief by The GIFT Nigeria Project’; and ‘Where is the Money? – A Revenue Remittance Compliance index of Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies’ (Vol. 1).
The GIFT Nigeria Project, supported by USAID, is being implemented by OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative, Centre for Transparency Advocacy, HipCity Innovation Centre,CLICE Foundation and Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors.
Epia explained that the conversation is about how to plug loopholes in the extractive sector, get the relevant acts properly amended, get MDAs to do the right thing to ensure increases in remittances and how to get citizens to follow up on the gaps and public projects delivery.
He further explained that, given the political season Nigeria has found herself, the conversion is being shifted to ensure that political actors focus on key accountability issues, to get them give assurances on how they they will address issues post 2023.
Also speaking, one of the stakeholders, Mr. Bassey Bassey noted that, if many young people engage the political actors, it would elicit hope, adding that the projects being implemented include street parliament which is aimed at gauging the perception of Nigerians on issues.
On her part, Faith Nwadishi, a renowned resource accountability activist, raised critical questions about natural resources, energy transition and other related matters, including how to tap from the ongoing Russia – Ukraine War and the relevance of gas in the global mix.
Barrister Charles Abana, a legal practitioner with FRC addressed some obstacles that have hindered accountability and harped on the need to improve the commission’s staff strength.
