Senate committee, bucks at presidency’s attempt to make FRC chairman nominee sole administrator

The Senate has pointedly told the presidency that the law setting up the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, FRC, never envisaged the role of a sole administrator of its management after President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominee as its substantive Chairman for the Commission, Barr. Victor Muruako, a sole administrator of the FRC, came to hearing without representatives from geopolitical zones.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Solomon Adeola Olamilekan expressed this concern when the FRC Chairman-designate stormed his confirmation hearing not being accompanied by one representative per each geopolitical zone, a member of the civil society, representative of the Nigeria Labour Congress and all other members necessary for a full board in accordance with the Act setting up the Commission.

The visibly disappointed Committee Chairman was quick to make excuses for the nominee, stating that it was not his making.

According to him, “This commission has passed through challenges, at a point the commission was scheduled for scrapping at a point it was schedule for merger and at a point our appropriation was stopped. “It is only President Muhammadu Buhari who came and gave back life to why we are here. For us it is a new beginning you Know where FRC has been? Just go and check when the commission was brought back to life.

“We thank God this is a new beginning for the commission. If you check the record it has been difficult times, for us we are not looking at today, we are looking at tomorrow, where we intend to put the nation and our efforts to strengthen the microeconomic stability of the nation

“This committee will take it upon itself to write the Senate and also the Presidency to inform them that there is need to have a full and complete board of the fiscal responsibility commission so that the board can become fully functional and alive with their responsibility.

“We have listened with rapt attention a lot of questions have been asked, bordering on your capacity, experience and your challenges.

“Even you have been in acting capacity for over eight years knowing fully well that you are entitled to two terms of four years each making eight years even though it is not of your making.

“We believe that coming on board now as chairman things will get better. There are major issues that are fundamental a lot has been said concerning what this commission is made of.

“The commission is an extension of the committee on finance of the national Assembly because of their role they are like auditors but more focused on the revenue side of the federal Government.

“On a quarterly basis this commission is to develop a report on the status of the revenue of the federal Government and the judicious application and the remittance of the revenue, it is that report that should guide our line of thinking while inviting all the revenue generating agencies.

He said over the years the agency has been made redundant as their responsibility has been reduced to the lowest level.

“I believe that if we have a full board in place all the revenue generating agencies of the federal will be reawaken and that can reposition this country with the judicious application of these resources.

“To that end if the committee confirms you our first assignment is to invite you and all the revenue generating agencies alongside the accountant general of the federation so that we can give this agency lifeline for it to carry out its obligation as at when due.

“There are a lot of issues that are hanging we have seen that you are passionate that you really want to do the job until all that is around this is done, we want.”

Meanwhile, the nominee has denied allegations that he spent Eight years in acting capacity.

In a chat with newsmen after his confirmatory screening on Tuesday by the Senate Committee on Finance, the agitated Chairman designate said the allegation is a misconception.

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