The chairman of the committee, Bamidele Salam, said this at the resumed hearing of the committee in Abuja on Wednesday.

The committee also summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Yemi Cardoso, Minister of Finance, Wale Edun and representatives from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation,  to appear before it on February 20.

The committee is investigating alleged leakages and non-remittance of TSA revenue generated through Remita.

Salam said that the investigation aimed at transparency and accountability and not targeting any specific company.

The Managing Director of Remita Payment Service Ltd (RPSL), Mr Deremi Atanda, clarified that Remita did not manage government revenue but acts as a software and payment gateway.

Atanda debunked the one per cent fee charged for processing TSA, adding that the applicable fee for processing TSA payments was N150 with VAT.

He said this was according to CBN circulars of November 2018 and December 2020.

He said that Remita offered free value-added services to the Federal Government despite foreign hosting costs.

The committee however expressed concern about the lack of documents, particularly from CBN, contrasting with Remita’s provision of a signed contract.

Salam said there was a need for the physical appearance of the Minister of Finance, CBN Governor, and Accountant General of the Federation before the committee on February 20, 2024.

TSA introduction

NAN reports that in August 2015, former President, Muhammadu Buhari approved the establishment and operation of TSA for e-Collection of Government Receipts for all Federal MDAs with immediate effect.

This approval was contained in a circular number HCSF/428/S.1/120 entitled: Re-Introduction of Treasury Single Account, TSA, dated‎ 7th of August, 2015 and signed by Danladi I. Kifasi, Head of the Civil Service of The Federation.

According to the circular, the TSA is ‎to aid transparency and facilitate compliance with sections 80 and 162 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), all receipts due to the Federal Government or any of her agencies shall be paid into the TSA  as follows: Account Name: Accountant General (Federal Sub-Treasury), Account No. 3000002095 maintained in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), except otherwise expressly approved.

In December 2023, the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petition ordered the arrest of the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso; Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein; and 17 others, over failure to appear before it for questioning on their functions.

However, in February 2024, CBN stated that its efforts were beginning to yield results to ease the economic situation in the country.

The governor of the apex bank, Olayemi Cardoso, made this known when he appeared alongside the economic team before the Senate Committee on Finance, Banking, Insurance, and Financial Institutions.

At the fifth Edition of Future Investment Initiative Summit held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2021, former President Muhammadu Buhari said initiatives like e-Naira, TSA, Bank Verification Number, and National Identification Number were put in place to drive the digital economy and fight corruption in the country should give investors “a lot of comforts”.

Possible exemptions

Meanwhile, PUNCH Online reports that since the introduction of TSA, some ministries, and government agencies have been exempted.

The House of Representatives, in 2017, raised questions over a “purported” presidential approval exempting some special Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation accounts from the TSA.

A few days to exiting office in May 2023, Buhari approved the partial exclusion of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated from the TSA.

NAN