20,000 Bank Accounts Closed Under TSA, N5tr Moved—FG

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Ahmed Idris, has disclosed that since the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in September 2015 to July 2017, about 20,000 bank accounts opened by over 900 government agencies have been closed.

Speaking at a workshop organised for finance correspondents in Abuja on the TSA and other public financial management reforms, the AGF also said the policy has seen the movement of about N5 trillion from banks to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), where the TSA is domiciled.

In addition, during the 23 months, Mr Idris said Federal Government has saved about N108 billion as a result of the about N4.7 billion paid monthly as bank charges on indiscriminate borrowings by government’s Ministries, Department, and Agencies (MDAs).

He pointed out that the withdrawal of the funds from banks had made it difficult for the lenders to impose any charges on the FG, adding that the scheme has brought about blockage to loopholes in the government’s funds.

“The TSA has brought about tremendous gains, making it possible for government to successfully eliminate multiple banking arrangements resulting in consolidation of over 20,000 bank accounts, which were spread over the Deposit Money Banks across the country,” the AGF said at the event.

He added that, “This has further brought about transparency and effective tracking of government revenues.”

In addition, the policy has “also led to the blocking of leakages and abuse, which characterised the public financial management before the implementation of the TSA.”

Furthermore, he said, “The TSA has taken us out of the era of indiscriminate borrowings by the MDAs and saved government the charges associated with those borrowings, which hitherto amounted to N4.7 billion monthly.”

Mr Idris urged the media to continue to support the policy and report gains of the TSA to the general public.