Fiscal Responsibility Commission Seeks Collaboration with Ministry of Communication
Elizabeth Christopher
The Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Victor Muruako has requested the assistance of the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy in attaining effective discharge of the Commission’s mandate.
This is to further position the Fiscal Responsibility Commission as the leading voice in fiscal policy initiatives with cutting-edge skills in information technology.
Muruako commended the Minister of Communication Ali Pantami for revolutionising the ICT sector in Nigeria for more economic advantage.
He made this remark recently during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami.
The Chairman appealed to the Minister for support in equipping the Commission with digital tools which would enhance its performance in fiscal reforms.
In his words “poor budgetary appropriation has not enabled the Commission to build an ICT base that is appropriate for the mandate it carries noting that at the moment we are doing so much with rather inadequate ICT tool making it look exactly like the Commission is squeezing water out of stone, judging from technology hardware, software, and skillset in the Commission”.
Muruako emphasised that the skillsets and the digital tools are crucial to the success of the Commission because they would be helpful in monitoring the revenues of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, analysing their financial statements to determine due remittances to the Federal government and making reliable revenue projections which would aid in the delivery of public goods to Nigerians.
He also hailed the Minister for launching the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (2020-2030) which would provide a solid foundation for governance pointing out that Nigeria’s transition towards a digital economy is a well-thought-out initiative under Pantami’s watch and it would positively rub off on other sectors of Nigeria’s economy.
Responding, Dr. Pantami gave kudos to the FRC Chairman for initiating the partnership with his Ministry saying that ICT is no longer a stand-alone sector but a key enabler of other sectors of the Nigerian economy.
He opined that the ICT sector is the fastest growing sector, twice the biggest contributor when compared to oil and gas.
He also praised the efforts of the Commission to keep government Agencies on their toes in the area of accountability and transparency.
Hauwa Abu
