Presidential Research & Communications Unit

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has charged the Fiscal Responsibility Commission to enforce prudent rules in the nation’s fiscal management and ensure a harmonious relationship between it and all MDAs said the nation’s economic future and fiscal responsibility were directly linked.

Receiving members of the Commission on Tuesday April 14 at the State House Abuja, the President said that at this critical time of global economic downturn which had diminished trade opportunities, access to finance, migrant remittances as well as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and called on the commission to embrace short and long-term fiscal challenges, and help put the nation on a path to lasting prosperity and a rising standard of living.

According to the President, “Fiscal responsibility, as we are all aware, is essential to creating a better, stronger, more prosperous nation for the next generation. This body therefore, has a pivotal role to play in the significant upgrade of fiscal prudence among Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“We have worked with state governments on the enactment of laws and eventual establishment of fiscal responsibility institutions in their respective states. The credibility with which you perform your duty and the much anticipated outcome of fiscal space created by prudent utilisation of public resources would provide a big push in the state governments desire to speedily establish similar institutions. “This is very necessary as the federal government controls less than 50 per cent of all federally collectable revenues and there are also internally generated revenues which are outside the jurisdiction of the Federal Government.

“It is important to remind you that our nation’s economic future and fiscal responsibility are directly linked. There is a tie between fiscal responsibility and financial prudence today and what society can enjoy tomorrow. Facing up to both the short and long-term fiscal challenges, therefore, will help put the nation on a path to lasting prosperity and a rising standard of living. If, on the other hand, we fail to quickly address the preponderance of fiscal inefficiencies and wasteful spending in our systems, we will squander the opportunity to get our finances in order.

“We are at a very critical time of both global economic downturn and a strategic stage in the implementation of our development strategy - the 7-Point Agenda, which requires both resources and prudent spending. You should have it at the back of your minds that the global economic slowdown has diminished trade opportunities, access to finance, migrant remittances as well as FDI. As a specialized fiscal institution, therefore, you are expected to take charge and enforce prudential rules in our fiscal management”, he said.

“We have an ambitious agenda to implement to tackle issues that have for long dampened our growth prospects, the quality of government institutions and public financial management which are critical for the effectiveness of scaling-up public spending. In this regard, it is necessary for your commission to speedily settle down and face the challenges before it. We are aware that the success of any fiscal responsibility framework hinges on appropriate design, consistency in Public Finance Management (PFM) regulations, and enforcement of their provisions. I would like to assure you of government’s support and commitment in executing your assignment”, the President added.

The members of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, which the President said “signified a major milestone in the nation’s effort to establish key reforms that started some few years ago”, were led by their chairman Alhaji Jibril Aliyu Yelwa.