ABUJA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Senate, on Wednesday, recommended the termination of a contract the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) entered into with Systemspecs, an e-revenue collection platform provider for the use of REMITA in aid of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy.
The lawmakers also recommended the payment of N656.5 million to Systemspecs as its commission for the N800 billion revenue it mopped up for the Federal Government instead of the N7.6 billion earlier collected by the firm and operating banks at one per cent commission.
The Senate, which, on Wednesday, adopted a report of its Joint Committee on Finance, Banking, Insurance and Public Accounts, which investigated alleged payment of N25billion commission to Systemspecs for use of REMITA, also insisted that the government should not pay the one per cent commission earlier recommended.
In approving the 10 recommendations made by the joint committee, which was presented by the chairman, Senator John Enoh, the Senate directed that the CBN should ensure total refund of the funds, all deductions ealier made in respect of the use of REMITA and the affected Deposit Money Banks .
The Senate also asked the CBN to open up the space to other e-collection providers for competition, effectiveness, efficiency and greater robustness.
Senate further directed that all agreed fees and payments for e-collection service should not be borne by MDAs, but provided and disbursed from a central pool.
Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, in his remarks, said the Senate’s action on the TSA operation was not against the idea per se , but finding out how it was being managed to save the nation from any sharp practices.
He said: “I think the message we are sending out today is very clear that our interest lies in ensuring proper use of funds, this Senate will stand firmly for that and this goes back to the issues where people wonder the usefulness or value of the parliament and I think this is a good example, by this action, this country is saving close to between N22 to over N30 billion, which is higher than the appropriation of a lot of ministries, department and agencies of government (MDAs).
“When motion for this investigation was raised in October last year, a lot of noise was made that it was just because the Senate didn’t want to support TSA, but this report categorically applauds the TSA, but the issue is that the cost of doing the transaction should not undermine the good purpose of the TSA and I think that was what we have done today.”
But Systemspecs, the parent body of REMITA, said on Wednesday, that the company acted in the interest of Nigeria.
The company also said its services in respect of REMITA was more than just collecting funds for the government, but included, “payments, accounting information exchange and update, full real-time integration with GIFMIS, integration with the national financial services ecosystem, enabling payers across multiple platforms, and 24/7 user support for 50,000 FGN TSA users of Remita platform.”
A statement by Systemspecs’ Managing Director, John Obaro, said: “It is fulfilling to note that the Senate report did not accuse Remita of under-delivering on the substance of the contract and that our efforts are recognised as having played a significant role in the life of the nation when it mattered and that the disagreement has only been on the commercial terms of our contract. The Senate committee further recommended that SystemSpecs’ efforts should be rewarded – albeit on a scale which is quite debatable.
“Since inception over 24 years, we have chosen to be guided by sound ethical principles and have walked away from many transactions we believe can challenge the standards we have set for ourselves. This is attestable to by the numerous multi-national, indigenous public and private sector organisations and individuals we have been privileged to work with over the years.”
Credit: Tribune (Nigeria)
