Abuja – The Acting Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Mr Victor Muruako, said the compliance level of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) dropped due to the Oronsanye Panel report.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that the recommendation by the report to scrap or merge the commission with other similar organisations had grossly affected FRC’s operations.
“Before the pane’sl report was published, many MDAs were responding to the fiscal responsibility regime, but that the report created confusion for the MDAs.
“We are aware that since the Oronsaye panel report and the white paper was gazetted it has obviously affected our operation particularly in terms of level of compliance.
“When the Oronsanye panel report came out three years ago, it became a big problem and while we were still trying to adjust to it, came the white paper that said that we should be scrapped.
“There has been a downward trend because a lot of them became very lukewarm and complacent because they were waiting for the day the FRC will be scrapped.
“This is so that they will go back to their old ways of not remitting to government,’’ he said.
Muruako, however, said that the commission would not give up on its responsibility to ensure fiscal prudence in governance.
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He also said that the commission would ensure that MDAs complied with the provisions of the Act to remit payment of operating surplus of profits of revenue agencies of government.
According to him, this is because the current administration is desirous of a fiscal responsible nation.
“But we thank God, with the coming into being of this new administration, they have shown a lot of desire for a regime of fiscal responsibility and that is where we are.
“This government has shown the way forward because from all its actions it has shown that obviously it has zero tolerance for corruption.
“And there is no better way of fighting corruption than in training a regime of fiscal prudence and management of government resources,’’ he said.
NAN recalls that the Steve Oronsanye’s Commission on Rationalisation of Agencies recommended that the commission be merged with a similar one.(NAN)