Group Managing Director (GMD) Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Maikanti Baru has been summoned by the House of Representatives over N50 billion belonging to the corporation kept in different bank accounts in violation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy. Chief executives of several banks have also been summoned.
Why have they being summoned ?
Members of a committee set up by the House of representatives to ascertain the status of the TSA policy appear not to have been convinced by the explanations given on why the funds were still domiciled with commercial banks. Dipo Fatokun, who stood in for the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, while stating the bank’s position, informed the committee that a portion of the N50 billion may have been withheld due to court cases involving the corporation.
The apex bank, also disclosed that it had gotten a waiver from President Buhari, exempting the sum from the TSA Account since it included proceeds from Joint Venture (JV) contracts. The reps members have however asked the corporation to provide evidence of presidential approval within 48 hours.
The Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation has recently requested Price Waterhouse Coopers and EY to audit the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
What is TSA ?
The Treasury Single Account (TSA) was introduced by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, but implemented by the Buhari administration in November 2015. As part of the policy, all revenue receipts and payments are done through a Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) at the (CBN). This eliminates the need for multiple accounts being operated by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The downside
While the government has eliminated waste and earned trillions of Naira, several MDAs have kicked against the policy or requested to be exempted from it. According to them, the TSA had denied them access to funds to funds to complete vital projects.
