Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has told the Federal Government to perish the thought of imposing the Treasury Single Account (TSA) on States, pointing out categorically that the Federal Government was not in the position to counsel or force any State to accept policies that are not working for those that introduced them.
Fayose said in a press statement issued on Friday, February 19, 2016 by his special assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka: “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.”
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, had called on states to accept the TSA.
Reacting, Governor Fayose likened the Federal Government to a blind man trying to lead people who can see clearly, saying; “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.”
He said up till now, the Federal Government was yet to explain the alleged N25 billion naira scam allegedly perpetrated in the name of the TSA, adding that “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!”
The governor, who maintained that President Muhammadu Buhari lacked the required mental capacity to rescue the country from the present economic problems, added that it was an insult for a federal government that appeared to be clueless to be preaching its unworkable policies to other tiers of government.
“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.”
