President Bola Tinubu has pulled the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), out of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), to pave the way for the Nyesom Wike-led FCTA to utilize the territory’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the development of the nation’s capital.
Wike, who announced this while briefing reporters on recent developments on Friday, also disclosed that the President has approved the establishment of the FCT Civil Service Commission (CSC), to allow for staff career progression.
Major challenges that have affected the effective and efficient implementation of the treasury single account (TSA) policy include: the inability of the federal government to remit appropriately to the various MDAs; uncertainties underlying federal government inactions and actions, bottlenecks/ bureaucracy, etc
The treasury single account model was introduced to mitigate financial leakages, promote probity and prevent misappropriation of government revenue, and consolidate government accounts in a bid to prevent embezzlement and high-handedness by revenue-generating agencies.
Explaining how he persuaded President Tinubu to remove the FCTA from the TSA, the minister stated that: “the Central bank cannot give FCTA loan, and even the IGR is spent as they come, which you cannot tangibly do anything with it.
“I said to Mr. President that if you want FCT to really carry out its developmental projects and infrastructure, then it must come out of TSA. We (FCT Administration) are not a revenue-generating agency of the federal government, then what financial linkages are you blocking? The revenue comes in, and it will go to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)”.
Wike noted: “We need money to do projects; I can’t go to the Central Bank to ask for money, and I can’t go to the commercial banks; they will ask how do you pay back? So, I said we must be pulled out of TSA, that’s the only way, we can survive it.
“Mr. President graciously agreed with us and approved that we should be pulled out from the Single Treasury Account. You will see that from next year it will be projects upon projects in FCT. And what you saw in Port Harcourt, Abuja would be something else. So for us, it is one of the happiest days, and we have to thank Mr. President for foresight.
“People will kick against it, but it is not personal, it is about the growth of the city, the welfare of the civil servants, and the interest of the women – our mothers, sisters, and wives.”
Wike noted that the development was the real essence of the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
He noted: “One of the reasons that I accepted to work with Mr. President is because he has the capacity and political will to do those things that people are afraid of doing. The problem of this country is leadership, so many people don’t want to take action as they believe that some people will be angry. There is no action you take that everybody will be happy with. But what is important is that you are guided by law and your conscience.”
