Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor

Funsho Balogun

As state governments continue to face intense pressures on their cash flows, courtesy of the prevalent decrease in revenue and the need to rise up to the challenge of increasing statutory and social responsibilities, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has released the guidelines for the implementation of Treasury Single Account, TSA by states.

The TSA, according to the CBN, would be a major component of financial and treasury management reforms being undertaken by the states.

A circular on the Central Bank’s website explained that the bank introduced guidelines for states in exercise of its powers as provided in the CBN act 2007, Section 47 Subsection 2:2 d. According to the CBN, the objective of the guideline is to provide state governments with a clear framework to support their successful implementation of the TSA initiative based on standardized banking arrangement, operational processes and IT infrastructure.

Part of the essential requirements for operating the TSA by states is that government agencies are not to operate any bank account under any guise outside the purview and oversight of the treasury.

The CBN also explained that under the policy, the consolidation of government cash resources should be comprehensive, and encompass all government cash resources, including the budgetary and extra budgetary.