- The House of Representatives scrutinizes transactions via Remita platform, questioning N15bn payments without agreements or contracts
- CBN explains choosing Remita for revenue remittance, while the Accountant General’s office seeks reconciliation of TSA revenue with CBN
The House of Representatives has criticized the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), commercial banks, and other financial institutions over alleged questionable transactions and remittances via the Remita platform.
During the resumed investigative hearing of the House Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday, Chairman Bamidele Salam queried the payment of N15bn to Remita from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) between 2016 and 2018. Salam described the payments as questionable since they were made without agreement or contract.
Ahmed Abdullahi, the Director of Banking Services at CBN, explained that the apex bank chose Remita and System Spec as platforms for revenue remittance because they had been providing similar services to banks.
Representing the Accountant General for the Federation, Oyewole Adewale, the Chief Accountant of the TSA Department, stated that the CBN had not responded to letters requesting reconciliation of revenue accrued through the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
During the hearing, Aderemi Atanda, the Director of Remita Payment Services Ltd, revealed that revenue collected through TSA was distributed among CBN, commercial banks, and Remita, with shares of 10%, 20%, and 50%, respectively. Atanda noted that the collections varied and were not static.