The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Alhaji Ahmed Idris, has said the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) is not a punitive measure targeted at any government establishment.
Idris made this clarification in Abuja while receiving members of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Federal Universities who were at the Treasury House to discuss the operations of the universities.
He said: “The introduction of the TSA is not a punitive measure targeted at any government establishment or an attempt to jeopardise the peace and stability of the university system, but part of the reforms being introduced by this administration to institutionalise a more effective and transparent management of public finances in the country.”
He maintained that the TSA is aimed at creating a single pool where all government’s receipts are kept in one account, thus making it possible at a glance to know the state of all the accounts.
In order to ensure smooth implementation of the TSA, Alhaji Idris said the Office of the Accountant General (OAGF) has set up a special committee to be headed by a director, to address all issues or enquires from the affected ministries, department and afencies (MDAs) and make sure the operations of specialised agencies such as the universities are not hampered by the project. He reassured the visitors that the OAGF will collaborate with the universities to ensure that all matters raised are addressed to ensure that the universities are more efficient and transparently managed.
The AGF allayed fears being expressed by some MDAs that the directive of President Muhammed Buhari on TSA for the e-collection of government receipts will negatively affect the operations of some specialised agencies. He said: “It will rather improve their efficiency and increase the rating of the nation’s economy.”
Earlier, the leader of the delegation and Secretary of the Committee of Vice chancellors, Prof Michael Faborode, told the AGF that the universities by their operations and services rendered, are peculiar establishments which should not regarded as purely public service or categorised as revenue generating agencies. He therefore called for a review of the inclusion of the universities in the TSA circular.
He expressed fears that the implementation of the TSA in the university system may distort effective functioning of the university system, since according to him, their allocations are hardly enough to cater for their basic needs.
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