Fayose: Udoma couldn’t draft budget so he can’t preach TSA

Ayo Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, says Udo Udoma, minister of budget and national planning, who could not prepare a simple budget, cannot preach the usage of treasury single account (TSA) to states.

The governor said Ekiti state would not be adopting any single account, adding that it is made to enrich a few.

“The Federal Government should rather face the dwindling economy of the country instead of going about grandstanding on a TSA policy that was already tainted with fraud,” Fayose said in a statement by Lere Olayinka, his special assistant on new media.

After a training for state auditor-general on TSA, Udoma called on state governments to adopt a treasury single account, but Fayose has described the policy as a “fraud”.

“The same minister, whose office could not prepare a simple budget, should not assault the sensibilities of Nigerians by telling states to accept a TSA policy that is characterised with fraud.

“The TSA policy was aimed at enriching some individuals for doing virtually nothing and that can be seen in the discovery of N25 billion that was said to have accrued to just a single company in one month!”

He said the economy and the nation’s is getting worse by the day, adding that the naira would spike to 500 against the dollar in no time.

“The rate at which dollar is rising, we will soon begin to talk about one Us Dollar being equivalent to N500. As at today, it is already more than N400 to $1.

“Workers are being sacked on a daily basis while prices of goods are rising astronomically and Foreign Reserve is declining on daily basis. Yet, all that this All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Buhari’s Federal Government can be preaching is for States to accept TSA as if that will stem the tide of the rising hunger and sufferings that is ravaging Nigeria.

“Methinks these people should just face the reality of their failing government and seek for help from those who know better than them instead of carrying with this attitude of ‘we know it all’ so that the economy of this country will not collapse totally.”