The House of Representatives in Nigeria has directed its Committee on Public Accounts to investigate alleged revenue leakages through the Remita platform and submit a report within four weeks. The decision came after the adoption of a motion presented by Jeremiah Umaru (Nasarawa, APC) and Jafaru Gambo (Bauchi, APC).
Jeremiah Umaru, while moving the motion, highlighted that Remita is a software and financial service platform owned by SystemSpecs, a private company responsible for managing government revenues. The platform has served as a gateway for the Treasury Single Account of the federal government since its full adoption in 2015 for collecting government revenues.
Expressing concerns, Umaru pointed out issues related to non-compliance with Standard Operating Procedures and other Service Level Agreements signed among Deposit Money Banks, the Office of The Accountant General, Systemspec, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He emphasized that despite the supposed benefits of the Remita platform and the reasons for its adoption, there are worrying rates of revenue leakages and substantial non-compliance with the agreed procedures and agreements.
The investigation by the Committee on Public Accounts is expected to shed light on the alleged revenue leakages, assess the extent of non-compliance, and recommend corrective measures to ensure transparency and accountability in the government’s revenue collection processes. The outcome of the investigation could influence reforms and improvements in financial systems and platforms used for managing government revenues in Nigeria.
