The Executive Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, ViITStor Muruako Esq paid a courtesy visit to Ahmed A. Halilu Managing Director of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting (NSPM) Plc on Friday.
The visit aimed to strengthen inter-agency relationships and explore potential areas of collaboration.
FRC Boss highlighted the role of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and how the Commission was established in 2008 under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007, and is tasked with promoting prudent management of Nigeria’s public finances, ensuring transparency and accountability, and driving sustainable economic growth. The Commission’s roles include conducting fiscal analyses, monitoring compliance, evaluating government entities’ fiscal performance, and offering improvement recommendations.
The Chairman shared that the commission has significantly reformed Nigeria’s public finance management. It has promoted revenue-raising policies, spending efficiency, and enhanced debt management practices. The Commission has also facilitated public participation in budgetary processes and promoted accountability across all government tiers. Notably, the enforcement of payments of Operating Surplus and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by federal agencies has bolstered the government’s independent revenue, surpassing N1 trillion in 2021 and reaching N1.7 trillion in 2023. New policy initiatives are expected to push this figure close to N3 trillion in 2024.
Muruako emphasized the shared interests between the FRC and NSPM, noting that both organizations play crucial roles in fostering good governance and financial integrity. He called on NSPM to become an ambassador for fiscal responsibility by advocating for transparency, accountability, and probity in public finance.
The FRC chairman highlighted some challenges faced by the commission which particularly includes the inadequacy of its enabling law, which lacks provisions for enforcing penalties against fiscal misconduct. Muruako revealed ongoing efforts to amend the Fiscal Responsibility Act to empower the FRC with robust enforcement mechanisms and sought NSPM’s support in advocating for these amendments.
The Commission also struggles with inadequate manpower and budgetary allocations. Muruako appealed for NSPM’s assistance in funding specialized training programs for the Commission’s staff, particularly in data analysis and macroeconomic diagnostics, to enhance their analytical capabilities.
In conclusion, Muruako expressed optimism about the potential impact of collaboration between the FRC and NSPM. He underscored the importance of leveraging their respective strengths to strengthen Nigeria’s economy and promote fiscal responsibility.
Overall, the courtesy visit served as an opportunity to strengthen collaboration between the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the Nigerian security printing and minting while also highlighting areas requiring urgent attention and intervention for the advancement of Nigeria’s economic development goals.
In his response, the Director of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc, Ahmed A. Halilu appreciated the good work of the Commission and called on the federal government to fund the Commission adequately to enable them to deliver their mandate.
He further called on FRC to concentrate more on how to facilitate business to achieve economic sustainability.
In conclusion, Ahmed A. Halilu called on the National Assembly to hasten every effort to amend the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 stating that the amendment of the Act will generate more funds for the federation account.
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