THEORISING THE TREASURY SINGLE ACCOUNT (TSA) IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Successive governments in Nigeria have continued to operate multiple accounts for the collection and disbursing of government revenues in flagrant disregard to the provision of the constitution which requires that all government revenues be remitted into a single account. Treasury Single Account (TSA) came as a quick fix to regulating the level of accountability and transparency in the financial resources of the government of the country. Treasury Single Account (TSA) is a unified structure of government bank accounts enabling consolidation and optimal utilization of government cash resources. Through this bank account or set of linked bank accounts, the government transacts all its receipts and payments and gets a consolidated view of its cash position at any given time. However, this paper theoretically examined Treasury Single Account in Nigeria with a view to providing the way forward for the country. In this paper, we proposed that government should engage in massive public enlightenment about the importance of the policy at all levels. Also, government should adhere to the provisions of Section 162(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) for the maintenance of Federation accounts and avoid using private contractors (SystemSpecs-Remita). Though Section 162(1) has made provisions for maintenance of Federation accounts, the legislature should look inwards and address the operational details. Furthermore, government should overhaul the capacity of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the CBN to cope with challenges associated with enforcement of the provisions of the TSA.