Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) has stressed the need for revenue-generating agencies to comply with the Fiscal Responsibility Act for transparency, fiscal prudence and accountability in the management of public funds.
Mr Victor Muruako, the Acting Chairman of the Commission, said this at a two-day training on “Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007 for the management and staff of the Nigerian Immigration Service on Wednesday in Keffi.
Muruako said that the aim of the capacity building workshop was to enlighten and educate the relevant agencies of the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
“It is also to strengthen their compliance level, particularly so that they can conform with the template for calculation of operating surplus, which is the standard document produced by the commission.
“The template provides for allowable and disallowable expenditures from these agencies, it also clears the issues on remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Funds of the Federal Government.
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“We want to ensure that the relevant revenue-earning agencies of the Federal Government including Nigerian Immigration Service make their own contributions to the Consolidated Revenue Funds of Federal Government,” he said.
According to him, the commission is also working hard to ensure that these agencies submit their audited account on time in line with the provisions of FRA.
“This is part of our efforts to support the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the revenue profile of the Federal Government is strengthened,” he said.
Similarly, Mr Charles Abana, an Official of the Commission, said that the training was an opportunity for the participants to know what the Act required from them and every other government’s revenue generating agency in the management of public funds.
“The aim of the training is to make the Nigerian Immigration Service staff have a general overview of the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
“Especially, the one that requires the Nigerian Immigration Service to prepare and publish its financial statement every year and submit to FRC.
“It is as well required to pay 80 per cent of its operating surplus through the Consolidated Revenue Funds,” Abana explained.
He also outlined the areas of the training to include; budgetary planning, budgetary execution and achievement of targets, the medium-term expenditure framework and conditions of borrowing among others.
He, therefore, hoped that all the participants would be well equipped and very much enriched in their knowledge about the Act at the end of the capacity building workshop.