Fiscal Responsibility Commission Sensitises Govt, Citizens on Sustaining Transparency, Accountability

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) has taken its sensitisation campaign to states in the north-central of Nigeria, urging government and citizens to live up to their roles in improving and sustaining fiscal transparency and accountability in states.

Addressing his audience at a three-day workshop in Jos, Plateau State, the Chairman of FRC, Mr. Victor Muruako acknowledged that some states in the federation have enacted Fiscal Responsibility Laws, established requisite Fiscal Responsibility Commissions and duly funded the commissions.

Commending the states, Muruako added: “We also commend the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) for their peer review programmes that have helped states to upgrade their practices. Without the buy-in of states, the interventions would not have delivered on expected outcomes.”

He said the campaign in Jos was for the Commissioners of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, and State Debt Management Officials, State Auditors General, relevant Civil Society Organisations whose areas are transparency and fiscal governance, and State Fiscal Responsibility Commissions in Plateau, Adamawa, Kogi, Kwara, Benue, and Niger States.

He, however, observed that citizens across the 36 states of Nigeria were not making good use of the large and detailed volume of information on budget plans, budget execution and audit reports placed online by states of the federation, adding that “this threatens the sustainability of the gains in fiscal responsibility at the subnational level.”

He said, “In the light of the foregoing, I call on citizens and citizen groups, particularly Civil Society Organisations, Community-Based Organisations, Faith-Based Organisations, and other non-governmental organisations to take up the conversation and keep it alive:

“You have been asking for transparency. Now that you have some transparency, wake up and use the data and information so liberally provided by State Governments to help them improve their own public finance decisions. Don’t let this progress roll back,” he said.

Muruako also appreciated the Federal Ministry of Finance, the World Bank, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the Public Service Institute, the Office of Auditor-General of the Federation and all others that played some roles in the articulation and actualisation of the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme. Reviews of the programme have been positive.

He said, “Considering how hard our Commission has struggled over the years to get State Governments to officially commit to a legal framework for institutionalizing transparency, accountability and public participation in public finance management; considering also the weak responses to our Commission in this regard by most State Governments, we can’t help but be excited at the records that SFTAS has engendered. 

“To us, it is literally a miracle that each of the 36 states of the federation can publish online, by end of January each year, their respective approved budgets for current year, prepared under National Chart of Accounts and approved by their respective State Houses of Assembly.

“More exciting is the fact that each State now also prepares its Audited Financial Statement in accordance with IPSAS, submits it to the State House of Assembly, and publishes it online by August of a succeeding year. To say the least, we are pleased.”