Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has questioned the decision of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to outsource the collection of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) to a private firm.
The Federal Government has quietly appointed Xpress Payments Solutions Limited as a new TSA collecting agent for the country.
In a reaction on Sunday, Atiku described the decision as a “dangerous resurrection of the Alpha Beta revenue cartel that dominated Lagos State during and after the Tinubu years.”
According to him, the decision has created a private toll gate around public revenue and funnelling state funds into the hands of “a politically connected monopoly.”
“What we are witnessing now is the attempt to nationalise that same template, moving Nigeria from a republic to a private holding company controlled by a small circle of vested interests.
“To introduce such a policy in the middle of a national tragedy, while Nigerians are mourning loved ones lost to the deepening insecurity crisis, is not only insensitive, it is a deliberate act of governance by stealth.
“When a nation is grieving, leadership should show empathy and focus on securing lives, not on expanding private revenue pipelines,” he said.
Atiku queried the value appointment of Xpress Payments Solutions Limited stands to add to TSA that that’s lacking in existing channels.
Raising more questions on the transaction, he said,” “Why was this appointment rushed and smuggled into the public space without consultation, stakeholder engagement, or National Assembly oversight?
“Who truly benefits from this? Nigeria or an entrenched political network?
“This is not reform. This is state capture masquerading as digital innovation.
“Nigeria does not need more middlemen between citizens and their government revenue. What we need is greater transparency, stronger institutions, and a tax system free from political capture.”
The former vice president called for the immediate suspension of the Xpress Payments appointment pending a public inquiry.
He also demanded a full disclosure of the contractual terms, beneficiaries, fee structures, and selection criteria.
He also called for a comprehensive audit of TSA operations to prevent the creeping privatisation of revenue collection.
The PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election demanded for a legal framework, not executive shortcuts, that prohibits the insertion of private proxies into core government revenue systems.
Atiku similarly called for a national security priority shift, saying that a country under assault cannot afford economic governance conducted in the shadows.
“Nigeria’s revenues are not political spoils. They are the lifeblood of our national survival, especially at a time when insecurity is tearing communities apart.
“The government must abandon this Lagos-style revenue cartelisation and return to the path of transparency, constitutionalism, and public accountability,” he added.
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