FG announces guidelines for exempting third-party research grants from TSA

The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein, has released new guidelines allowing research grants from Federal Universities and Research Institutions to be excluded from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

In a federal treasury circular issued in Abuja on Thursday, Madein stated that these guidelines would take effect immediately, following President Bola Tinubu’s approval.

The guidelines require that federal universities and research institutions obtain AGF approval before opening accounts for research grants and endowment funds with commercial banks. All other accounts must remain with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Madein emphasized that each research grant and endowment fund must be backed by a well-executed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the institutions and the granting bodies. She also noted that the Office of the AGF will maintain a list of all research grant and endowment fund bank accounts established by these institutions as part of the presidential approval.

“The management of the accounts, including accounting and reporting of transactions with commercial banks, shall be restricted to the bursary/accounts departments of the tertiary institutions,” she explained.

The AGF reiterated that these accounts are solely for receiving grants, and no other public funds should be managed through them. “Such accounts shall not be deemed to be the operational accounts of the tertiary institutions or research institutes,” she added.

Annual returns, including bank statements and reconciliation statements, must be submitted by the institutions to her office for verification. These returns will be integrated into the General Purpose Financial Statement (GPFS) of the government.

In addition, Madein reminded institutions to strictly adhere to the TSA and e-collection policy guidelines in all operations.

Previously, the OAGF issued operational guidelines for the exit of tertiary institutions from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), stating that payrolls for October would be processed on the IPPIS platform, while those for November and December would be managed by the institutions and verified by the OAGF before payment through the GIFMIS platform.