The Senate yesterday, hailed the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, for admitting that he was aware of one per cent commission of N8 billion on Treasury Single Account (TSA) allegedly collected by Sytemspecs Nigeria Limited a subsidiary of an e-collection firm, REMITA.
The Upper Legislative Chamber which stated it had been vindicated by Emefiele’s confession and refund of the commission as well as stoppage of further payments by the government, however, vowed not to succumb to any blackmail in discharging its constitutional duties.
Emefiele shocked the Senate Joint Committees on Finance, Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions; and Public Account during a public hearing on “Abuse and Mismanagement of Treasury Single Account, TSA, Regime” in Abuja, when he denied knowledge of the one per cent approved charge for the TSA remittance.
“The truth is that I will like to confess that I did not really know, because I have to say what I know, that there is one per cent charge being taken on that account until the Senate and the House of Representatives raised a Point of Order when we were summoned to the Office of the Senate President,” the CBN governor stated.
The Senate’s reaction came after the Points of Order 14 and 15 of its Standing Rule raised by Senator Sola Adeyeye on the contributions of National Assembly to democracy.
In raising the Point of Order, Adeyeye stated he received several emails and text messages during his official assignment abroad in the last two weeks on the relevance of National Assembly to democracy.
Adeyeye, who stated he was proud to be a senator, reeled out how the federal legislature has contributed to democracy. He stated that it was the National Assembly that terminated Third Term agenda of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Also, the legislature saved the country from crisis when there was no defined leader when the late President Umaru Yar’Adua was sick and flown abroad. The Assembly also amended the electoral law that now makes rigging difficult in the country.
“I am proud to be part of this Senate. I watched on television last night when the CBN governor, for the first time, confessed that he was not unaware of one per cent commission paid on TSA and that N8billion has been refunded after his discovery of the payment when the National Assembly raised the matter,” he stated.
After Adeyeye’s Point of Order, Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, asked the Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim, to explain what transpired during the public hearing.