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FRC begs against being scrapped

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In from Ali Smart…

In the desperation to keep their jobs, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) at the weekend appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to jettison the idea of scrapping the agency as it has been mooted in some quarters.

The commission’s Head of Press, Mr.  AbdulGaniyu Aminu made the appeal at a press conference in Abuja.

According to him, the Steve Orosanye report has become an albatross that has now hampered FRC from performing its mandate.

“The Orosanye Report and the white paper on same that the Commission be scrapped have been hanging on the Commission like the proverbial albatross of ancient mariner,” he said.

The cost running the Commission, he said, is less than the revenue it induced from the Scheduled Corporations under the FRA, 2007.

He maintained that the FRC is the least dependent agency of the Federal Government because it has the lowest expenditure provisions in the Federal Government annual budgets.

Aminu revealed that about 10 states have so far enacted the Fiscal Responsibility Law at the instance of the FRC while others are at various stages of passing the legislation.

He submitted that scrapping the FRC at the centre will send a wrong signal to the states which literally means that the states should scrap their own fiscal responsibility bodies.

Justifying the continuous existence of the agency, the Commission’s spokesman Head of press said that the FRC has been monitoring and enforcing the FRA 2007 by Scheduled Corporations in the areas of the preparation of the MTEF, rendition of audited accounts and payment of 80% of their operating surplus to the Federal Government Consolidated Revenue Fund.

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He recalled that “In 2013, due to the acceptance of the Federal Government recommendations to scrap the FRC, the remittance of operating surplus rather than increase, dropped drastically as most agencies are no longer disposed to cooperating with the FRC in the discharge of its functions.

“In the light of the foregoing we make bold to suggest that rather than being scrapped, the FRC should be strengthened and further empowered so as to diligently enforce the provision of FRA, 2007 to the letter.

“In addition, the FRA, 2007 should be amended to remedy some weaknesses discovered in the course of monitoring and enforcing it.  For example, while some offences are specified, no corresponding sanctions are provided for.”

 

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