Lai: Jonathan’s administration initiated ‘TSA deal’

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says the agreement on treasury single account (TSA) charges with Systemspecs, owners of Remita electronic payment platform, was reached long before the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Although Mohammed said the TSA deal only enjoyed a new lease of life under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, he revealed that it was initiated by the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan.

There are speculations of fraud in the handling of the TSA, which has compelled the Nigerian senate commence an investigation into its management.

But Mohammed insisted on Tuesday that the funds that had accrued to the TSA remained intact, and challenged anyone who had any fact and figure to the contrary to make such information public.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the minister stated that less than N2trn was accrued to the TSA, hence the one per cent charges on the amount could not have been N25bn.

“For the sake of Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora who have been following the TSA debate, we hereby restate the facts:

“The TSA deal was initiated by the immediate past administration but only enjoyed a new lease of life under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari because of his sterling leadership qualities of accountability, transparency, uprightness and respect for the rule of law.

“Any agreement on the TSA charges was reached long before the present administration assumed office.

“Even if the agreement on the charges is one per cent, it could not have amounted to N25bn because the total amount of money that has accrued to the TSA is less than N2trn.

“Even if one per cent was agreed as charges, whatever accrues therefrom was meant to be shared among the CBN, Systemspecs (the owner of the Remita software) and the commercial banks, hence no single company could have collected N25bn as charges.

“As at the time the controversy over the TSA broke, the total amount of money in the TSA was less than N800bn.

“The TSA has neither been enveloped in any fraud nor has any money from the account been diverted.

“The senate’s investigation of the TSA issue is within its oversight responsibilities and is never a confirmation that the TSA funds have been diverted or that indeed one single company has made N25bn as charges.

“These are the issues and we stand by them, irrespective of a rabble-rousing and demeaning statement from any quarter.”