A major showdown looms between the Executive and the Senate over the commission deducted for services on the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
The Senate, which last week slated a probe into an alleged deduction of N25 billion as commission by a firm, insisted yesterday to go ahead with its investigation.
Senate President Bukola Saraki alleged that the Senate was being blackmailed and it would not be deterred.
But Minister of Information Lai Mohammed, in a clarification he issued on the TSA controversy, said nothing was amiss, “irrespective of a rabble-rousing and demeaning statement from any quarter.”
Saraki said there was no doubt that the Senate had the responsibility to ensure that no leakage allowed in government funds.
Melaye last week led the Senate to adopt a motion which mandated the Senate Committees on Finance, Banking and other Financial Institutions and Public Account to carry out a holistic investigation of the operations of the TSA regime.
Melaye claimed that “in the course of the operations of the TSA, the Federal Government on the 15th of September 2015, mopped up the sum of N2.5 trillion through its E-collection agent called REMITA which charges 1% of all monies passing through it, the implication of which is 1% of the N2.5 trillion mopped up on the 15th of September, 2015 alone amounting to N25 billion to REMITA for doing nothing.”
He observed that “the appointment of REMITA as an agent for the operation of the TSA negates and contravenes Section 162(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that ‘The Federation shall maintain a special account to be called The Federation Account into which all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation, except the proceeds from personal income tax of the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force. Going by this provision, all revenues accruing to the Federal Government of Nigeria ought to be paid directly to the said Fund or Account as may be the case.”
Yesterday, Melaye claimed that a publication by a national newspaper portrayed the Senate to have engaged in a hatchet job aimed at preventing President Muhammadu Buhari from implementing the TSA.
The Kogi lawmaker said the implication of the publication is that the Senate was hired to debate and adopt the TSA motion.
He said: “The writer said we are against the change agenda of Mr. President by raising the abnormality going on with the implementation of the TSA. We did not at any time in this chamber implicate President Muhammadu Buhari of being involved in TSA controversy.
“We will not stop carrying out our legislative duties for fear of being blackmailed.
“The motion moved last week had two prayers. The first thing we did was to thank Mr. President and commend him for the implementation of the TSA. For anyone to say that this Senate is fighting Mr. President is myopic; it is parochial. It is unacceptable to the 8th Senate.
“I have a letter here that I am going to lay with this paper, written by the Director Banking and payment of CBN to the Managing Director of Systemspec, where the CBN categorically stated that they should remit the one per cent that they collected.
“I also have a letter here by the Managing Director of that company to the Accountant General of the Federation and the Governor of CBN that have completely buttressed and elicited our decision last week. So for people to blackmail us is irresponsible; it is unacceptable to me and the Senate.
“Never would we allow blackmail and political and economic bigots to destroy the people. We are for the people and we will stand in defending public interest.
“My singular prayer is that the write-up should be referred to the relevant committee for proper investigation.”
Saraki ruled that the publication should be referred to the Senate Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions for investigation.
He said: “It is time the committees are inaugurated so that they can start work immediately because this matter (N25b commission) came up last week and we have set up three committees to take a look at the issue.
“No amount of either blackmail or intimidation will stop us from doing the work we have to do.
“The fact will come out and everybody will have opportunity before that committee to state the fact. The facts will come out and speak for themselves.
“We have a responsibility here to ensure that there are no leakages in government funds and if there are we will call the attention of the public and do whatever it takes and there is no amount of intimidation that will stop us. It is our responsibility.”
Saraki gave the Ethics committee one week to report back to the Senate on its findings.
In a statement entitled: “TSA: Talk is cheap, facts are sacred”, the Information minister said funds that have accrued to the TSA remain intact, challenging anyone who has any fact and figure to the contrary to make such information public.
He said: ‘’For the sake of Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora who have been following the TSA debate, we hereby restate the facts:
- The TSA deal was initiated by the immediate past administration but only enjoyed a new lease of life under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari because of his sterling leadership qualities of accountability, transparency, uprightness and respect for the rule of law.
- Any agreement on the TSA charges was reached long before the present administration assumed office.
- Even if the agreement on the charges is one per cent, it could not have amounted to N25 billion because the total amount of money that has accrued to the TSA is less than N2 trillion.
- Even if one per cent was agreed as charges, whatever accrues therefrom was meant to be shared among the CBN, Systemspecs (the owner of the Remita software) and the commercial banks, hence no single company could have collected N25 billion as charges
- As at the time the controversy over the TSA broke, the total amount of money in the TSA was less than N800 billion.
- The TSA has neither been enveloped in any fraud nor has any money from the account been diverted.
- The Senate’s investigation of the TSA issue is within its oversight responsibilities and is never a confirmation that the TSA funds have been diverted or that indeed one single company has made N25 billion as charges.”
‘’These are the issues and we stand by them, irrespective of a rabble-rousing and demeaning statement from any quarter,’’ the Minister said.
END
The brains behind Remita can easily be googled.
I think Nigerians will soon begin to witness a lot of political statements laced with falsehood, blackmail & irresponsible & reckless statements from the Minister of Information especially on topical national issues. Who are d brains behind Remita?