Did FG exclude finance ministry from TSA?

Few days ago, there were reports that the federal government has excluded the ministry of finance from the Treasury Single Account policy of the federal government. The report was carried by many online mediums and blogs.

The TSA is an arrangement where all government Ministries, Departments and Agencies operate a unified structure of government bank accounts in a single account or a group of linked accounts for all receipts and payments.

Daily Trust on Sunday recalls that the federal government began the TSA implementation in September 2015 shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office.

MISLEADING

Verdict: Verification

Checks by Daily Trust on Sunday show that the federal government only approved the partial exemption of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) from the treasury single account (TSA) policy.

MOFI is a corporation solely vested with the responsibility to manage all federal government investments, interests, estates and rights.

While speaking at the inauguration of the governing council of MOFI, President Muhammadu Buhari who announced the partial exemption also granted the request of the board to charge management and transaction fees.

He also approved the inclusion of the minister of power in the governing council.

Speaking on the approvals, the president said the new MOFI board was inaugurated to transform the organisation from a registry of investment records to a world-class asset and investment management company.

Buhari said as a governmentowned investment company, MOFI must be supported to exercise its responsibility of achieving strong returns on investments, while also contributing to the economic development of the country.

“With a vast portfolio and strategic investments that span across multiple sectors, MOFI has the potential to shape industries, spur innovation, and support economic growth,” he said.

Background

The TSA is a public accounting system using a single account, or a set of linked accounts by government to ensure all revenue receipts and payments are done through a Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The pilot TSA policy was first introduced during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 using a unified structure of accounting for 217 government Ministries,

Departments and Agencies MDAs, which was targeted at checking incidence of multiple accounts operated by government MDAs for collection and spending of government revenues.

However, implementation began in 2015 as government MDAs started remitting revenue collections to the Consolidated Revenue Account through their individual commercial banks on a fee-for-service remuneration basis.

The coming of the policy gave right to the Ministry of Finance and Accountant General of the Federation to have full oversight of all cash flows across different MDAs bank accounts as all payments through the TSA follow an electronic system, with direct payments or deposits to the bank account of the beneficiary MDAs.

Last year, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr Dasuki Arabi, said the Federal government had saved about N10 trillion since the introduction of Single Treasury Account (TSA).

Conclusion: Daily Trust on Sunday verifications show that that federal government did not exclude federal ministry of finance from Treasury Single Account policy, however it partially exempted the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) - saddled with the responsibility of managing Nigeria’s investments, interest among others, as such the reports were misleading.

This Fact Check is produced in partnership with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)