N25bn TSA Fee: We Won’t Be Intimidated – Senate

The Senate yesterday said it will not succumb to any form of intimidation in the course of carrying out its investigative duties in general and the probe of the alleged N25 billion Treasury Single Account (TSA) fraud in particular.

Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, said this yesterday during plenary while reacting to a motion raised by Senator Dino Melaye over an alleged attempt to blackmail the Senate over the TSA probe.

Saraki said, “No amount of either blackmail or intimidation will stop us from doing the work we have to do. We have a responsibility here to ensure that there are no leakages in government funds, and if there are, we will call the attention of the public and do whatever it takes to salvage the situation; it is our responsibility.

“The fact about the TSA will come out and everybody will have opportunity before the committee to state the fact. The facts will speak for themselves,” he said.

The Senate president said rather than be intimidated, the chamber will inaugurate its standing committees to enable them to begin its oversight and investigative function fully.

In his motion of privilege, Melaye drew the attention of the senators to a newspaper article which queried the Senate’s motive for the probe and said it was accusing them of working against President Muhammadu Buhari’s effort to implement TSA.

While reiterating the resolve of the Senate to work with President Buhari in the fight against corruption, Melaye recalled that it was the assembly’s stand on the alleged TSA fraud that led SystemSpecs to refund the one per cent it collected from mopped up funds to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“The writer said we are against the change agenda of Mr President because we raised the abnormality going on with the implementation of the TSA. We did not at any time in this hallowed Chamber implicate President Muhammadu Buhari of being involved in TSA fraud.

“We will not stop carrying out our legislative duties for fear of being blackmailed. The motion moved last week had two prayers.

“The first thing we did was to thank Mr President and commend him for the implementation of the TSA, and for anyone to say the Senate is fighting Mr President is myopic, parochial and unacceptable. I have a letter here that I am going to lay with this paper, written by the director, Banking and Payment of CBN to the managing director of SystemSpecs.

“The CBN categorically stated that they should remit the one per cent that they collected. I also have a letter here by the managing director of that company to the Accountant General of the Federation and the governor of CBN that have completely buttressed and elicited our decision last week.

“So, for people to blackmail us is irresponsible. It is not acceptable to me and the Senate.

“Never would we allow blackmail and political and economic bigot to destroy the people. We are for the people and we will stand in defending public interest,”he said.