FG Closes 20,000 Bank Accounts, Moves N5.2tn into TSA

The Accountant General of the Federation, Ali Ahmed Idris, has disclosed that Since the commencement of the Treasury Single Account in September 2015, over 20,000 accounts with Deposit Money Banks belonging to Ministries, Departments and Agencies have been closed with a total sum of N5.24tn moved into the TSA.

Speaking at the opening session of a two day retreat on TSA, Idris described the implementation of the TSA as one of the success stories in the management of public finances.

He explained that through the policy, the government has been able to block leakages and abuse which had characterised the public sector before its commencement in October 2015;has assisted the government to overcome the burden of indiscriminate borrowings by MDAs and reduced the costs that government was incurring on bank charges. Before the implementation, Idris said the government incurred about N4.7bn monthly on bank charges.

The TSA, which took off fully in September 2015 is a platform which was used by the government to unify all its accounts by ensuring that all monies belonging to the federal government are kept with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He said, “The issuance of TSA circular in August, 2015, coupled with the political will and enforcement, enabled us to achieve considerable progress on the TSA implementation.

“As at the 10th of February,2017, the total inflow of funds through the mop-up and direct debits by the Central Bank of Nigeria amounted to N5.24trn.

“We have successfully eliminated multiple banking arrangements, resulting into consolidation of over 20,000 bank accounts, which were spread over Deposit Money Banks across the country.

“This has further brought about transparency and effective tracking of government revenues.”

Other dignitaries at the event include Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir Lawal.