SaharaReporters has gathered more details regarding
why members of the Nigerian Senate moved to clamp
down on President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration
over the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
Our investigation revealed that, in October, the
leadership of the National Assembly led by Senator
Bukola Saraki hatched out a secret arrangement to force
Central Bank of Nigeria officials to exclude National
Assembly accounts from the Treasury Single Account
(TSA). The legislative leaders claimed that the TSA was
hampering the National Assembly’s operations.
One source told SaharaReporters that some members of
the National Assembly were not pleased that members of
the executive branch would know details of their
hitherto opaque financial transactions. They consulted
CBN officials about ways of quietly opting out of the
TSA. Our source stated that CBN officials could not make
a commitment to remove legislative accounts from the
TSA opting to inform President Buhari instead. However,
when Mr. Buhari was informed of the arrangement, he
immediately objected to excluding NASS accounts.
On learning of the president’s objection, Mr. Saraki
mobilized other National Assembly leaders and invited
CBN officials to a meeting in October. At the meeting,
the legislators reportedly threatened to deal with the
CBN if the regulatory bank’s officials did not exclude
them from the TSA. A source familiar with the meeting
told SaharaReporters disclosed that the lawmakers told
CBN officials they had found out certain officials of the
Buhari administration were using a third party,
SystemSpecs Limited, to milk Nigeria through the TSA
policy.
Our source revealed that, following the testy meeting,
CBN officials decided to discontinue the 1% fee that was
deducted from the federation account and paid to
Systemspecs Limited for managing the TSA protocol.
Officials of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s
government had arranged for the 1% fee.
Our investigation revealed that the TSA protocol was
first mooted in December 2011. In January 2012, the
Jonathan Presidency signed an agreement with
SystemSpecs, owners of the software used for TSA
deposits. The implementation phase of the agreement
was then signed in December 2013 authorizing the use
of TSA as a payment platform.
Infuriated that they failed to get their accounts out of
the TSA, Nigerian senators have raised a motion calling
for a probe of the TSA. They claimed that the TSA was
President Buhari’s agenda to steal money from the
Nigerian treasury. However, CBN officials and the
owners of Systemspecs openly declared that Mr. Buhari
did not sign the service agreement between the
Systemspecs and the Federal Government. In a letter
sent to President Buhari, they explained that the service
fee paid to SystemSpecs Limited ballooned after the
Buhari administration ordered commercial banks to
surrender all government funds in their possession,
adding that the CBN then stopped the service charges.
A senator told SaharaReporters that Mr. Saraki was also
upset about the TSA because of its deep impact on
Heritage Bank, a commercial bank in which he and other
members of his extended family have significant
ownership stake. The source disclosed that Societe
Generale Bank, which Mr. Saraki’s family virtually
liquidated through reckless banking practices and
corruption, had re-emerged as Heritage Bank. The CBN
recently approved a merger of Heritage Bank and
Enterprise Bank. With the introduction of the TSA policy,
“the Senate President cannot just place the Senate’s
funds in a bank where he has financial stake.”
As Governor of Kwara State, Mr. Saraki often funneled
state funds into banks in which he had significant
interests.
Our senatorial source also alleged that Mr. Saraki’s
burgeoning legal fees had made the former governor
desperate to fight the TSA in order to have unfettered
access to the Senate’s budget. According to the
senator, Mr. Saraki had hired a score of lawyers to
scuttle his ongoing trial at the Code of Conduct
Tribunal. “His legal expenses are not a joke. That’s
another reason he does not like how the TSA policy is
standing in the way of his ability to dip his hands into
the National Assembly funds to help settle some of his
legal bills,” said the legislative source.

http://saharareporters.com/2015/11/16/how-saraki-national-assembly-leaders-secretly-opposed-treasury-single-account

Sahara Desert report

These men re certified fraudsters!

Sahara reporters better shut their dirty mouth. When Dino accused Stella of siphoning funds, it was seen as whistle blowing. Now he has turned around his i-spy activities on the APC, it is now seen as deceit. If they know they don't have anything worthy of reporting, they should just wait for another day. Rubbish

Useless Sahara