From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Ex-Senate President Dr Adolphus Wabara, has flayed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recent directive on the abolition of Treasury Single Account (TSA), and introduction of Sub-Recurrent Account.
The Federal Ministry of Finance, had on December 28, 2023, directed that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), fully funded by the Federal Government should remit 100 per cent of their revenues into a Sub-Recurrent Account, a sub-component of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), where the Federal Government will now receive and consolidate its revenue earnings.
According to the new policy, agencies not funded by the federal government are expected to remit 50 per cent of their generated revenues.
The directive effectively closes TSA conceived by former President Goodluck Jonathan but operated under the immediate-past administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking on the Federal Government’s new directive, Wabara, who is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), disagreed with the Federal Government that the new policy was aimed at preventing corruption, rather, he described it as “a panacea for corruption”.
Senator Wabara was of the view that the new policy would rather encourage financial malpractices and further syphoning of public funds.
While expressing disappointment in President Tinubu approving the new policy, Wabara said the action had portrayed his administration as unserious with the anti-graft war.
“I obtained my Ph.D defending my dissertation on Treasury Single Account. I am extremely disappointed with this decision of Tinubu.
“The only policy that attempted to showcase or portray the corrupt administration of Buhari as fighting corruption was his TSA policy.
“This Tinubu’s partial TSA policy is a panacea for corruption. It gives the unfortunate impression that the Tinubu administration is not cut out to fight corruption but unwittingly creating channels to siphon money. There are no two ways about it.
“As a scholar on this subject, I challenge the Tinubu administration to give Nigerians one good reason for this policy change other than to encourage corruption”.
Wabara called for a return to the TSA era, adding that will bring about financial transparency and prudent management of scarce resources which will help Nigeria to exit early from its current economic malady.