HURIWA DECRIES FICTITIOUS PETITIONS AGAINST FISCAL COMMISSION:

A pro-democracy and non-governmental organization-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has raised alarm on proliferation of faceless and fictitious petitions being bandied around against the Fiscal Responsibility Commission under the watch of the Acting chairman Mr. Victor Muruako.

The leading pro-transparency body disclosed that in the last three Months different petitions bearing unverifiable and indeed false identification have been dropped at the operational office of the rights group.

The Rights group however lamented that these spate of fictitious petitions are coming at the time that the Fiscal Responsibility Commission under the supervision of the current management team has worked vigourously to reenergise the establishment even after it was recommended to be scrapped by the Stephen Oronsanye led committee on streamlining of government agencies. 

HURIWA specifically mentioned a particular petition endorsed by one Mr. Jonathan Yakubu who claimed to be a staff of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission just as the Rights group affirmed that it has found out through evidence-based investigation and through the exercise of the freedom of Information Act, that the name does not exist in the nominal roll of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.

“We are in receipts of half a dozen fictitious petitions from diverse anonymous sources and we embarked on scientific research of these claims of impersonation, corruption, fraud, sabotage and persistent breach of public procurement Act made against the Acting chairman of FRC Mr. Victor Muruako. We have found out that indeed the signatory is an impersonator and a specialist in identity fraud since there is nobody like that on the staff list of the commission. We believe firmly that a fifth columnist who may not be happy with some modest achievements of the gentleman heading that strategic commission, may be responsible for this attempt to hood wink anti-graft commissions to probe the official.

“As a civil society stakeholder working in the area of transparency and accountability, we are aware of some landmark feats made by the management under the leadership of the acting chairman of Fiscal Responsibility Commission and his team which include but not limited to so steady pursuit of its mandate including monitoring the Scheduled Agencies which have yielded monumental dividends to public treasury by way of ensuring transparent and accountability on the management of revenues that ougt to accrue to the central government".

In the petition, they alleged that since assumption of office, Muruako had perpetrated various abuses.

HURIWA however believes that the most reasonable line of action is to allow the management to fundamentally upgrade that agency of government which has seriously faced operational challenges some of which became visible after it was recommended to be delisted.

HURIWA which has since scrutinizing the modalities adopted in the management of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and many others, however applauded the management team for keying into the change mantra and the anti-corruption disposition of the current government even as it expresses optimism that if allowed to carry out their mandates the Fiscal Responsibility Commission is in a strategic position to check any fund leakages in the various federal government agencies under her searchlight. HURIWA also said the due process of the law should be allowed to run its full course given the unconstitutional dimension of media orchestrated trial seeking to damage the corporate image of that government institution.