Following the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) report the Senate has has expressed its determination to amend the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, 16 years after.
The Chairman, of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Muhammed Sani Musa gave the indication at the ongoing 2023 budget defence and 2024 budget presentation at the National Assembly.
The FRC is one of the most critical Agencies of Government because its role is not just to monitor the fiscal policies but also to help generate what the monetary policies can achieve.
Musa said the Senate was going to work on the FRA, 2007 and look at those areas that they feel they can strengthen the Commission and also look at the area of human capital because there is no way we can have Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007.
He said, “We are worried every day about the huge debt burden we are experiencing in Nigeria.
“We have made a law, and we must abide by those laws because most sub-national governments are not supposed to go to any bank to collect any overdraft without clearance or proof of compliance from the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.”
He assured the Commission that the Senate was ready to create a better working environment for the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
He pointed out that based on the input which the Commission has already started making at the National Assembly which is yielding positive results on revenue.
He said the Red Chamber was going to look into this at the Committee level and make a recommendation to the Senate.
He hope that the appropriation Committee would reason with them and do something about the Budget of the Commission
In his presentation, the Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission appealed to the Senate Committee on Finance to continue supporting the Commission in Actualizing her mandate.
He placed more emphasis on adequate funding in the successful implementation of the Act.
He therefore solicited the assistance of the Senate and expresses the willingness of the Commission to ensure higher remittances of revenue by the ministries, directorates and agencies.
Muruako considered the proposal of independent revenue estimated to be N3m as an error and proposed a further increase to the sum of N20m.
He expressed optimism that this is attainable, hence their proposal should be adjusted.
He also challenges other agencies to improve on their revenue drive.