Don says Treasury Single Account will salvage the economy,

olamide olarewaju

February 7, 2016 8:04 PM

Ekhator said that the policy, when fully in operation, would help re- order and re-focus the nation’s financial resources.

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A Professor of Management Science in the University of Abuja, Victor Ekhator, said the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy was a child of necessity that would help `salvage’ the nation’s economy.

Ekhator stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

President Muhammadu Buhari introduced the TSA for all revenues accruing to the government to ensure transparency and accountability in the financial system.

Ekhator, who lauded the policy, said that the challenges currently being experienced in the economy occasioned by mismanagement of the enormous financial resources would fade away with time.

He said that the new government’s policies were steps in the right direction, given the current state of the economy.

Ekhator described the TSA policy as a short-term measure adopted by the government to maximise the nation’s scarce resources.

He said that the introduction of TSA was targeted at blocking the numerous revenue leakages in the financial system.

``For example, the TSA regime indicated that over 300 accounts had been discovered to belong to nobody.

``Meaning that ghost workers have been discovered because of the use of TSA, and hitherto monies were paid into these accounts, and people collected them.

He said that the policy would give the government the opportunity to save enough resources which could be used to provide social welfare services to the citizens.

The don noted that it was not in the best interest of the nation for any arm of government to distance itself from participating in the TSA policy.

``There is no where it is stated in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that it must gather all the accounts and collectively manage such accounts.

``The TSA is a child of necessity. It is the economic situation that has given rise to such practice.

``If a particular segment of the government is not comfortable with it and wants to opt out. I do not think it is the right attitude to adopt.

``The way things are going, all hands must be on deck to savage the economy.

``The way I look at the TSA, it does not stop you from your legitimate spending, provided the spending is legitimate. ``

On the restriction of forex for importation of some products produced in the country, he said it was a precautionary measure taken to ensure that the nation did not go bankrupt.

He said that the dwindling foreign exchange occasioned by the declining oil revenue had also led to the initiation of the policy.

``You see that the source of foreign exchange which has been the oil revenue is dwindling and yet people want to spend as if the revenue was coming.

``So I believe it was the right thing the government did to put the restriction. But in the long run, these measures will pay off the country,’’ Ekhator said.

He, however, expressed concern over policy inconsistency of successive governments.

Ekhator said that most administrations had abandoned laudable policies and programmes designed to better the lives of the people.

He said that such policy somersault had only succeeded in robbing many business people who made huge investments to help grow the local industry and the economy.

olamide olarewaju