The Constitutionality or Otherwise of the 2017 Guidelines on the Implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA)/E-Collection in Nigeria

By now, it is trite that Sections 80 (1) and 162 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (the Constitution), provide for the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Federation Account (FA); which sections also exempt certain receipts from the TSA and FA. This paper therefore considers the 2017 Guidelines on the Implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA)/e-Collection (the Guidelines), which the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation empowered to monitor and manage the Treasury Single Account and the Federation Account has issued. This Guidelines directs all federal government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to remit their revenue to the TSA, TSA Sub-Accounts or FA, whilst only exempting Federal Government equity funded enterprises which are still required to pay dividends into the TSA. This sweeping directive is claimed to have been released to ensure total compliance with sections 80 (1) and 162 (1) of the Constitution. It is against the backdrop of the foregoing that this paper x-rays the provisions of the Constitution, and as a corollary, various Acts of the National Assembly, to the end of determining the conformity or otherwise of the Guidelines, to their provisions.