Universities Kick Against Directive On TSA As AGF Allays Concern

    The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Alhaji Ahmed Idris, on Tuesday allayed fears that the federal government’s directive on the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) to federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) would negatively affect the operations of some specialised agenciesBut the directive has not gone down well with federal universities in the country, with the tertiary institutions vowing to make a case to the federal government for their exemption.


President Muhammadu Buhari last week had directed all federal government MDAs to remit their revenue to the TSA with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Buhari’s directive was followed up by a memo from the Head of Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kisali, to the MDAs detailing the implementation of remittances to the TSA.

However, investigations by THISDAY last weekend showed that several MDAs including universities, teaching hospitals and federal medical centres nationwide were yet to comply with the directive.

Speaking in Abuja while receiving members of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Federal Universities who were in his office to discuss the directive, Idris said the intention of government was neither to punish nor jeopardise the peace and stability at tertiary institutions but was targeted at enhancing greater transparency in the management of public resources.
He argued that the adoption would boost their efficiency and add value to the nation’s economy.

The AGF also assured the representatives of the university community that the TSA was only part of the ongoing reforms by the current administration to institutionalise a more effective and transparent management of public finances across the country and not a punitive mechanism as erroneously understood in some quarters.

He said the TSA, among other things, was 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 its accounts.

He further noted that in order to facilitate the hitch-free implementation of the TSA, his office had set up a special committee to be headed by a director to address all issues or enquires from all affected MDAs.

Idris said the committee would also ensure that the operations of specialised agencies including the universities are not hampered by the project.

He further assured his visitors that his office would collaborate with the universities to ensure that all matters raised would be addressed to ensure they are more efficient and transparently managed.

Earlier, the Secretary of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors, who led the delegation, Prof. Michael Faborode, informed the AGF that the universities by their operations and services rendered were peculiar establishments, which should not be regarded as purely public service or categorised as revenue generating agencies and called for a review of the inclusion of the universities in the TSA circular.

A statement issued by the Deputy Director, Press from the Office of the Accountant-General, Mrs. Nene Offie Faborode, added that the universities expressed concern that the implementation of the TSA in the university system might distort the effective functioning of the universities partly because their budgetary allocations from the federal government are hardly enough to cater for their basic needs.