OrderPaper organised a dialogue centred on the pivotal role of private sector engagement to address public finance management in Nigeria.
The Executive Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Victor Muruako, Esq has called on the private sector to actively engage with the public sector to uphold accountability and prudent management of public resources.
Muruako made this known while speaking at a private sector dialogue on public finance management and fiscal reforms on Monday, June 3, 2024 in Abuja.
OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative, Nigeria’s foremost parliamentary monitoring organisation and policy think tank organised this event to spotlight the pivotal role of private sector engagement in addressing public finance management in Nigeria.
Speaking at the policy dialogue, Muruako noted that the establishment of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) and the pursuant to the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) of 2007, underscores the country’s commitment to fostering heightened accountability and transparency in its fiscal operations.
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In fulfilling the mandate of the FRA, he pledged that, “The FRC Commission encourages, promotes, and supports conversations such as this event, which aim to promote, improve, analyse, diagnose or assess public finance management and fiscal reforms.
“The private sector is not a stranger or a bystander in public finance reforms and operations. The imperatives of government revenue, public expenditure, public debt, transparency, and accountability in public finance management are not exclusive to public sector entities. They extend to the private sector as well, which is integral to our nation’s economic growth and development,” he added.
According to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, the FRA is meant to provide for prudent management of the nation’s resources, ensure long-term macro-economic stability of the national economy, secure greater accountability and transparency in fiscal operations within a medium term fiscal policy framework.
The law was initiated to ensure the coordination of national economic policy between various tiers of government, and enable monitoring of agencies that are ‘off-budget’ but whose activities have significant impact on fiscal policies.
Speaking further, Muruako called on all responsible parties in the private and public sector to collaboratively maintain accountability and responsible utilisation of public funds.
He said, “I therefore, call on the private sector to actively engage with the public sector to uphold accountability and prudent management of public resources. Our collective responsibility is to ensure the best outcomes for all citizens of this nation. Furthermore, it is important to note that Section 51 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) empowers every citizen, including private sector individuals, to enforce the provisions of the Act.
“I urge all stakeholders to utilise this power to advance public finance management and improve fiscal responsibility outcomes in Nigeria.”
On his part, the Executive Director of OrderPaper, Oke Epia in welcome address stressed that the private sector dialogue was conceived for a form of interaction to discuss the challenges with respect to public finance reforms and the delivery of services.
He said, “As a private sector and as civil society, we have very important reasons to make our views, to let the authorities and other stakeholders know that this is how we feel and hear our voices.
“The only thing that we want is to see how we can deliberately engine that and sustain that collaboration.
“So, we are delighted that we are taking this step forward and that we have this message to convey to the private sectors and civil society on public finance reform.”
