From Jude Dangwam, Jos

The Executive Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Victor Muruko has called for the domestication of Nigeria’s Fiscal Responsibility Commission Act in the North Central States of Nigeria as part of efforts to embrace transparency and accountability in the handling of public funds by states and Local government areas.

The Chief Executive represented by his Special Adviser, Dr Chris Uwadoka said the essence of the summit is to facilitate the domestication of the Act by sub-nationals to carry citizens along in the running of government programs towards prudence and accountability at all levels.

He maintained that the theme of the summit which is; “Integrating the Citizen into Fiscal Decision-Making in States and Local Governments: Insights from the Fiscal Responsibility Act,” funded by the European Union and being implemented by the Rule of Law and Development(RoLACII) inc conjunction with International IDEA underscores the importance of strengthening fiscal responsibility and promoting citizen participation in public finance management in the country.

The Chairman stated this on Monday in his welcome address at the two days summit for the North Central States held at the Crispan Hotel in Jos the Plateau State Capital.

Muruko stressed that involving citizens in shaping fiscal policies and holding public officials accountable are natural results of democracy and democratic governance which Nigeria practices.

“Transparency and accountability are essential components of good governance. The public has the right to know how public funds are being allocated, spent, and managed. This includes information about budget proposals, expenditure reports, and audit findings.

“By promoting transparency, we can empower citizens to hold public officials accountable and ensure that public resources are used efficiently and effectively.

“Recent initiatives such as the Open Government Partnership, the Freedom of Information Act, and the Sustainable Fiscal Frameworks (SFF) have made significant strides in promoting citizen participation and accountability in public finance management. These reforms aim to strengthen transparency, enhance public oversight, and improve service delivery.” He noted

The Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang represented by the Commissioner of Finance, Grace Dongkum while declaring the summit open said the state is in the process of domesticating the fiscal Responsibility Act to further strengthen government operations.

“The Fiscal Responsibility is an integral part of government especially financial management because it is about transparency. One thing about transparency is that you manage the resources in such a way that it meets the critical needs sector and we are still able to have resources for future use.

“Because one of the things Fiscal Responsibility and Act wants to ensure is that we don’t finish everything we have right now, we think of the future. So, in decisions that we will make, we are being transparent, situates projects or services in such a way that they will have a long lasting effect and the future will also benefit from the decisions taken now.” She explained

She further stated, “Plateau State is in the process of domesticating this Act into law at the moment but it did not stop us from building our capacity because there are several times that Fiscal Responsibility Commission from Abuja have come around to look at our books and to also give us insight as to how these things should be managed because is call public sector and we have people working in strategic departments and units handling all of these.” The Finance Commissioner noted

The representative of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) and International IDEA; Mr. Pwanakim Mantin Dala said citizens participation in the management of resources is key for any government operations across various levels especially at the grassroots level.

Participants at the summit were drawn across the states of Kwara, Niger, Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau and the FCT, alongside Local Government Executives and personnels, Civil society organizations and the Media to looked into factors that affects the attainment of transparency, accountability and good governance to citizens of the region.