The Nexus Of Treasury Single Account Policy In Nigeria: An Exploratory Discourse

The article examines the nexus of Treasury Single Account (TSA) Policy in Nigeria a developing economy. Generally, government banking arrangements have been seen as important factor in managing and controlling government’s cash resources. This is achieved by establishing a unified structure of government bank accounts via a Treasury Single Account (TSA) system. A TSA is a desirable prerequisite for modern cash management and is an effective tool to establish oversight and centralized control over government’s cash resources. It provides a number of other associated benefits and thereby enhances the overall effectiveness of a Public Financial Management (PFM) system. Again, incrementalism theory developed by Lindblom and Woodhouse serves as the theoretical underpinning for this discourse. From the foregoing, it is obvious that the primary benefit of TSA is the mechanism it provides for proper monitoring of government receipts and expenditure. In the Nigerian case, it has helped to seal up most if not all the leakages that have been identified as the bane to the growth of its economy. Before the commencement of the TSA policies there exist a situation where MDA’s manage their finances with independence as a resort and remit limited revenue to government treasuries. Hence, under a properly managed TSA, this is constrained as agencies of government are meant to spend in line with duly approved budget provisions and to remit appropriately. It is therefore recommended that the maintenance of a single account for government will enable it monitor fund flow as no agency of government may be allowed to maintain any operational account outside the oversight of the appropriate agency of government.