FRC queries maritime academy over alleged unremitted surplus

The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), has queried the Management of the Maritime Academy, Oron, Cross River State, for flouting the Fiscal Responsibility Act, by the nonpayment of its operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), of the Federal Government.

The Commission is one of the key agencies of government saddled with the responsibility of improving its independent revenues, and as such, all the 122 scheduled Corporations, as directed by the Minister of Finance, must key into this provision to improve on revenue generation that would be useful in executing government budgets.

The Acting Chairman, FRC, Victor Muruako, made this known Tuesday, during an interaction with the management of the Academy in Abuja.Muruako said: “The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007, mandated our Commission to ensure that Ministries, Departments and Agencies under our supervision remit operating surplus as well as audited account for accountability and transparency in public finance and any corporation that flout this provision will be reported to the Attorney General of the Federation.”

He maintained that the uncooperative attitude of the Academy to remit operating surplus over the years, calls for concern, and he had no option than to ask Legal, Investigation and Enforcement Directorate of the Commission, to move in and compel the institution to comply with the provisions of Fiscal responsibility Act.
Also speaking, the Head, Monitoring and Evaluation, FRC, Ola Tijani, pointed out some technical issues on the accounts of the Academy that need to be corrected, stressing that the Commission will henceforth continue to beam its search light on the preparation of the Academy’s budgets.

He said the argument that the Academy is not a revenue generating agency was untenable, adding that as long as government funds its budget, it has the obligation under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, to remit operating surplus yearly, forward its audited account to the Commission, and present its Medium Term Expenditure Framework.Responding, the representative of the Rector, Maritime Academy, Oron, Dr. John Adeyanju, apologised on behalf of the Rector for his inability to make it to the meeting, and assured that the new Management values inter-agency relationship, and will improve on the collaboration.