By Joseph Erunke
Abuja-The House of Representatives has directed Remita, a financial technology firm, to refund a total of N182.769,245,175.20 withheld from Treasury Single Account, TSA, since 2015 to the federal government.
The directive came, following a forensic audit that uncovered significant financial discrepancies by the firm which is equally known as SystemSpecs Ltd.
The Public Accounts Committee,PAC, of the House gave the order during a hearing in Abuja yesterday, following the submission of an investigative report by consulting firm Seyi Katola & Company (Chartered Accountants).
Recall that the House of Representatives had in 2024, mandated the committee to investigate revenue leakages and non-remittance of funds by ministries, departments, and agencies,MDAs, through Remita.
Chairman of the committee, Bamidele Salam, explained that the resolution was based on evidence submitted by the consultant, as well as documents provided by SystemSpecs/Remita and other stakeholders within the Treasury Single Account ecosystem.
During the session,the managing partner of the consulting firm, Dr. Adewale Oyebamiji, presented the breakdown of the liabilities.
The audit found that SystemSpecs was responsible for:- N3.416,494,011.91 in under-refunded transaction processing fees; N101.850,246.99 in unpaid acquirer fees, and N179.250,900,916.30 in unremitted collections.
According to the committee’s report on the total payable by the System specs limited for first regime, calculated at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Rate of 27.25 percent,Under-Refund of Transaction processing fee; amount refundable was N993,006,714.31 while interests charges stood at N2,423,487,297.60,totaling N3,416,494,011.91.
On the other hand,the non-payment of acquirer fee refundable is N29,602,855.67, with interest charges at N72,247,391.32, totaling N101,850,246.99.Also,the non-remittance of collection refundable was N54,241,561,948.88 with interest was N125,009,338,967.42, totaling N179,250,900,916.30.
“The above breakdown amounts to N182,769,245,175.20 refundable by the System specs/Remit. The committee hereby recommends that SystemSpecs Ltd be compelled to refund the total sum of N182,769,245,175.20 to the Federal Government Asset Recovery Account domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), account number: 0020054161191,” Salam declared.
The committee noted that some deposit money banks have already complied with similar repayment orders.
“Public Accounts committee called on other TSA value chain service providers who are yet to comply to do so promptly,” Salam said.
He commended the forensic consultants for what he described as a thorough and patriotic job, emphasizing that the effort supports transparency and strengthens Nigeria’s fiscal accountability framework.
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