The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) has credited its collaboration with the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committees (PACs) for the sharp increase in operating surpluses remitted by Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) from N200 billion in 2013 to over N2 trillion in 2024.
FRC Chairman, Chief Victor Muruako, made the disclosure in Abuja on Wednesday during the 2025 National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance. The event, jointly hosted by the Senate and House Committees on Public Accounts, brought together stakeholders focused on improving fiscal accountability in public institutions.
Highlighting the impact of legislative oversight, Muruako said, “Through robust engagement and oversight particularly from the PACs and Finance Committees the FRC has helped raise the operating surplus of GOEs significantly, contributing to a dramatic rise in the Federal Government’s Independent Revenue.”
He noted that the Auditor-General’s reports, combined with sustained pressure from lawmakers, played a critical role in driving financial discipline within government agencies.
However, he warned that progress remains uneven across the country. Only 26 out of 36 states have enacted similar versions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), and enforcement at both federal and state levels remains weak.
“We need full domestication of the FRA in all states and the FCT. Without stronger enforcement mechanisms and legal reforms, gains in accountability may not be sustainable,” he cautioned.
Muruako advocated for the creation of a unified National Fiscal Governance Framework to improve coordination among oversight bodies and called for amendments to the FRA that would introduce stricter penalties for non-compliance.
Meanwhile, the conference also featured a presentation by Seun Onigbinde, Global Director of BudgIT, who detailed the role of civic engagement and digital technology in public sector accountability. According to him, BudgIT has tracked over 19,600 government projects worth N8.5 trillion across 7,589 communities, hosting more than 7,600 town hall meetings to ensure community participation in governance.
He reported that the organization helped facilitate the completion of over 11,800 public projects valued at N3.5 trillion—across education, health, and infrastructure sectors, positively impacting more than 11.5 million Nigerians.
Onigbinde stressed the importance of using social audits citizen-led reviews of public projects as a tool to strengthen democratic oversight and transparency. “Social audits give communities the power to verify whether promised projects are actually delivered,” he said.
Unlike traditional audits, he explained, social audits involve locals inspecting project sites, examining records, and reporting directly on outcomes. This grassroots approach, he argued, helps expose discrepancies such as inflated contracts, abandoned projects, or infrastructure that exists only on paper.
“When backed by legal frameworks and digital tools, social audits can transform how we monitor public spending. They help include marginalized voices and ensure that public funds serve real community needs,” he added.
Both speakers called for greater use of technology, civic education, and policy reforms to entrench transparency, reduce corruption, and make government spending more effective.
The conference concluded with a shared call for stronger oversight, inter-agency coordination, and citizen involvement to safeguard Nigeria’s public resources.
