Treasury Single Account: ASUU questions Buhari's TSA policy, warns of implications

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari's Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy, barely a month after the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) expressed similar concerns.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari's Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy, barely a month after the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) expressed similar concerns.

According to ASUU, the TSA could constitute bottlenecks in the smooth running of the Nigerian University System if hurriedly implemented.

Speaking during the National Executive Council (NEC) Meeting of the union held in Owerri, ASUU National President,  ‎Dr. Nasir Isa Fagge, said the Federal Government must deliberate over the policy with university representatives to make is workable.

The TSA, introduced to block financial leakages and prevent mismanagement of government's revenue, unifies all government accounts through a single treasury account, enabling it to prevent revenue loss and mismanagement by revenue-generating agencies.

READ: ASUP says Buhari's TSA is not good for Nigeria's tertiary institutions

Fagge said universities cannot function without the financial autonomy that the TSA takes away.

"There is no way any university can operate freely without having financial autonomy and the union will fight against any plans to deny us such,’’ Fagge said.

He explained that the autonomy enables universities to make long and short term plans and taking it away will have consequences.

"When government shifts funding responsibilities to university authorities, the implication will be enormous."

 

It will be recalled that, in mid-September, ASUP National President, Comrade Chibuzo Asomugha, had advised Buhari to provide a special consideration for educational institutions in the country as regards the TSA.