The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Friday said that President Bola Tinubu has approved the pulling out of the FCT Administration from the Treasury Single Account.
Wike, who disclosed this while briefing journalists, said the development would take Abuja to where it ought to be.
He lamented that the FCT was littered with projects, adding that the projects were being awarded without the requisite financial backing.
Wike said part of the problem was the inclusion of the FCTA into the TSA.
He however said the TSA is a tool that unifies all government accounts in the Central Bank of Nigeria for effective management of finances and cash position.
This, according to him, is not necessary for the FCT Administration because it is not a revenue collecting agency for the Federal Government.
He said: “Take, for example, so many projects were awarded in 2002, 2007 and 2010 and up to now they have not been completed.
“You can imagine a project that was awarded in 2010.
“This is 21 years.
“Imagine what they will cost now.”
The Minister added that the utilisation of Internally Generated Revenue was another problem, decrying that the FCTA IGR was spending funds as they came.
This, he said, could not tangibly be of any benefit to the administration.
Wike added: “So, I went to Tinubu and said: Mr. President, if you want FCT to carry out development projects and infrastructure among others, then they must come out from TSA.
“What is the essence of TSA?
“Blocking of leakages and the rest.
“FCTA is not a revenue collection agency for the Federal Government.
“So what are you blocking?
“If I need money for projects, I cannot go to the CBN and say give us money.
“CBN will not give us money.
“I can go to a commercial bank, but how do we pay?
“I say the best bet is that we must pull out.”
The Minister explained that if the FCTA was out of the TSA, it could approach a commercial bank, collect a loan and tie it to its IGR.
He said: “Assuming I want to collect N400 billion from the bank, I can say our IGR is about N20 billion a month, can you take N10 billion every month and in a year, we have paid N120 billion.
Also Read:
- Breaking: Ramadan begins on Saturday — Sultan
- PSC appoints Sulieman Yusuf, Adetutu Olofu as DIG
- Alleged harassment: My husband is a disciplined man, Akpabio’s wife fires back at Natasha
- Rivers crisis: Fubara acknowledges, speaks on Supreme Court verdict
- Police declare 60-year-old man missing in Ogun
“That is the only way we can survive it and Mr. President graciously agreed with us and approved that we should pull out from the Treasury Single Account.”
Wike assured the residents of the FCT that with this development, a myriad of projects would spring up from next year.
He thanked Tinubu for his foresight, adding: “With this development, insecurity in the FCT will soon be a thing of the past.”
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
