By Nkechi Eze
In a bid to bolster government revenue and promote greater fiscal discipline, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) has partnered with the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Jos, to organise a high-level training workshop on strategies for enhanced fiscal efficiency and reduced financial leakages across Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) and key Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Announcing the initiative in an official statement, the Deputy Director of Strategic Communications at the FRC, Bede Ogueri Anyanwu, explained that the workshop will reinforce the principles of fiscal responsibility in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, and build the capacity of senior officials to implement reforms that advance transparency, accountability and sustainable revenue mobilisation.
The programme, to be facilitated by Thinkbig Consulting Limited, will also promote stronger collaboration between fiscal policymakers, regulators and institutional leaders all in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for sound economic governance.
According to the FRC, the training will bring together Chief Executives and senior finance, legal and compliance officers from 68 Government-Owned Enterprises as well as other critical MDAs. With the theme “Strategy for Fiscal Efficiency, Enhanced Government Revenue, and Plugging Leakages in Nigeria’s Financial Management System”, the workshop is expected to serve as a platform for strategic dialogue and knowledge sharing on practical approaches to strengthening public sector fiscal discipline and minimising revenue leakages.
The Executive Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Victor Muruako, Esq., will deliver the welcome address, setting the tone for the deliberations. Nigeria’s first Professor of Capital Market Studies, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, will present a lead paper on the implications of recent tax reforms and the mandatory payment of Operating Surplus by GOEs. In addition, the Director of Legal, Investigations and Enforcement at FRC, Chukwuemeka Charles Abana, Esq., will address participants on the legal and regulatory provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (2007). Other sessions will be delivered by policy experts from NIPSS with a focus on broader fiscal and economic governance challenges.
Speaking on the importance of the initiative, Principal Partner/CEO of Thinkbig Consulting Limited, Tijjani Abdullahi, Esq., said the forum has been designed to enable top government officials “brainstorm, re-strategize, and commit to advancing fiscal responsibility for national development.”
