Group charges FG to disclose total amount in TSA
Agency report
A renowned global body, the United Global Resolve for Peace on the Treasury Single Account has called on the Federal Government to disclose the total amount that had accrued to the Treasury Single Account since its implementation.
Executive Director of the organization, Mr Shalom Olaseni, who spoke in Abuja, Tuesday, also requested that expenditures from the account also be made known.
Mr Olaseni berated the federal government for allowing Nigerians to bear the burden of paying into the account, revealing that some people were made to pay as much as 150 per cent flat rate charge.
He said that it was wrong for the government that originally signed the TSA agreement and obliged to bear the cost, to now shift the burden to Nigerians.
Olaseni said that it was in the light of the undue burden and the topmost secrecy with which the TSA was being handled that the organization sought to apply the Freedom of Information Act and request for details of accruals to the account.
“We made an application pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2011 to the Central Bank of Nigeria wherein we requested for some documents which includes the service agreement between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the service providers Systemspecs Ltd.
“We also demand the records of the procurement process that led to the awarding of the Treasury Single Account contract to Systemspecs Ltd,” he said.
Olaseni added that the group had been given approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to approach the Accountant General of the Federation for the documents.
He said that they had also approached Systemspecs Ltd. to get a clearer direction on the Treasury Single Account.
“We reached out to the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and demanded for a meeting. The government is yet to get back to us but we are optimistic that they will reach out to us as soon.
“Our demand on TSA is clear: We want to know the level of compliance by some MDAs with the directive of the Federal Government of Nigeria on the TSA.
“We intend to know the total amount that has been made by the Federal Government due to the TSA.
“We seek to know how the money made through the TSA is being spent.
“We demand that the amount Nigerians have to pay as service charge should be reviewed and reduced drastically or in the alternative, the government should own up to its responsibility by paying the service charge directly,” he said.
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