Commission explains fiscal responsibility law

The Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Alhaji Aliyu Yelwa, has said the Fiscal Responsibility Law 2007 is aimed at entrenching good governance in the financial sector. He spoke while receiving the Canadian Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Jean Gauthier, saying the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, which the FRC Act mandated the budget process to be guided by, was aimed at meeting the needs and aspirations of the people. Yelwa was quoted in a statement by the commission on Friday as calling on the three tiers of government to involve and consult the people in the budget process as specified by the Act.He stressed that good governance could not be said to exist if the common man did not feel the impact of government. Yelwa added that the Fiscal Responsibility Law could not be implemented without discipline, and that a situation where politicians make promises without fulfilling them was bad omen.He said if the commission was given both national and international support, it would do a lot in enforcing transparency and budget discipline.He told the envoy that the Canadian fiscal system was well grounded, with inputs from many stakeholders, thus bringing government under scrutiny, adding that Nigeria intended to domesticate some aspects of the Canadas management accountability framework. He expressed the need for an independent legislative budget office that would provide similar cost projections to the National Assembly and the public on various budgetary items. Yelwa praised the cordial relations between the countries and solicited the financial and technical support from Canada in the discharge of the commissions mandate. .
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