Indications emerged weekend that the Single Treasury Account (TSA) may be grounded, following the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) order suspending payment of fees and charges to parties operating the system.

As a result of CBN’s, recent directive, banks and other stakeholders operating the system may abandon the project in protest over the suspension of their one per cent agreed fees and charges. Stakeholders have been directed to refund fees and charges they collected as a result of the operation of the TSA.

The CBN had caused a letter dated October 27, 2015 to be written to Systemspecs asking for refund of all debits/charges into MDAs account.

The letter signed by Dipo Fatokun read in part: “I have been directed to inform you that you should refund all charges, 1% cost of collection made into MDAs account as a result of the implementation of the TSA. The total amount should be credited into the account – FGN Revenue e-Collection Pool Account at the Central Bank of Nigeria Account No 0020054161043.

“Since the cost of collection must have been shared by all the stakeholders, you are hereby required to also provide a schedule of the total amount collected and the portion that was shared to each of the three participants.

“The schedule should be prepared on month by month basis, from the commencement of the TSA implementation in March, 2015, to date. We will recover the share to CBN and DMBs. Please note that you are required to comply with the above directive, latest by Wednesday October 28, 2015.”

Documents sighted indicate that a total of N836.721 billion has been the inflow into the Federal Government coffer through the TSA for which a fee of N7.628 billion was charged by both the banks and the facilitator of the TSA project, SystemSpecs. From documents, the CBN is asking the banks to refund N3.053 billion into government treasury while the CBN is to refund the sum of N760 million. Systemspecs is also requested to refund N3.812 billion collected as fees and charges.

According to the official figures, as at September 15, 2015, N152. 225 billion stood as the cumulative amount that was collected into the TSA account while N797. 717 million was the fees due to Systemspecs. The figures also showed that as at October 27, the sum of N836.721 billion was the cumulative collection into the TSA and a total fee of N3.812 billion was due to Systemspecs.

•Excerpted from a Vanguard report. Photo shows CBN Headquarters.

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