By Justina Auta
Mr Valentine Achum, an advocacy expert, has called for sustained enforcement, legislative backing and technological strengthening of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) as the initiative enters its second decade.
Achum, Advocacy Lead for Equal Trade Alliance based in The Hague, made the call in a statement on Monday in Abuja, describing the TSA as Nigeria’s most successful fiscal reform.
He said that successive administrations had recognised it as a key achievement due to its contribution to fiscal transparency and revenue optimisation, adding that it is a legacy that must be preserved and expanded.
According to him, the TSA, now in its second decade of operation, stands as the most successful fiscal reform in Nigeria’s modern history.
“Successive administrations have claimed the TSA as a key achievement, understanding that its contribution to fiscal transparency and revenue optimisation represents a legacy worth preserving and building upon,” he said.
Achum said that the current administration inherited the initiative at a time of mounting fiscal pressures, adding that the TSA provides a tested foundation upon which new revenue management reforms can be built.
He further said that revenue leakages still persisted as some government funds remained outside the TSA framework and beyond the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“This underscores the need for stronger enforcement and improved use of technology to extend the system’s reach.
”The reality remains that revenue leakages persist, requiring continued enforcement, consensus, and the right use of technology.
”Government money still lies outside the TSA, outside the Central Bank. This highlights both the TSA’s success in what it has achieved and the work that remains to extend its reach fully,” he said.
Achum said that a comprehensive review involving critical stakeholders was required to identify operational, administrative and technological processes that should be retained, optimised or upgraded to ensure the continued effectiveness of the reform.
He also emphasised the need for robust legislation to insulate the TSA framework from political interference and entrench transparency as a permanent pillar of Nigeria’s financial architecture.
He called for continued reliance on indigenous technology.
According to him, the success of homegrown Remita in powering the TSA over the past decade demonstrates the capacity of local solutions to meet national needs while strengthening the domestic technology sector.
He further called for the expansion of the TSA framework to capture foreign exchange inflows into government accounts in order to ensure full visibility across all public financial flows.
Achum said that after ten years of operation, the TSA had recovered trillions of Naira, reduced wasteful spending, restored constitutional compliance, strengthened institutional accountability and stabilised the economy during crisis periods.
“The TSA has recovered trillions, eliminated billions in wasteful spending, restored constitutional compliance, transformed institutional behaviour, stabilised the economy during crisis, and earned international recognition.
“More fundamentally, it has proven that transparency and accountability in public finance are not theoretical aspirations but achievable realities.
“The TSA demonstrates that when government commits to seeing where its money is, controlling how it is used, and enforcing proper procedures, fiscal discipline follows,” he said.
He said that the reform should be protected, strengthened and institutionalised as a permanent feature of Nigeria’s governance framework.
He said that any attempt to weaken it would amount to a regression to the fiscal disorder that existed before 2015. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Maureen Ojinaka/Kadiri Abdulrahman
