By Emma Ujah,Bureau Chief, & Mitaire Ikpen
ABUJA – Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday raised alarm over the depletion of the Excess Crude Account, which stands at a mere $ 3.6 billion.

Speaking at the first civil society forum organized by her ministry to acquaint civil society groups with the Jonathan transformational agenda, Okonjo-Iweala also appealed to state governors challenging the constitutionality of the Sovereign Wealth Fund to have a re-think, noting that the Fund is critical to national survival given Nigeria’s mono-economic status.

According to her, the nation could go broke in the next few years if it does not initiate savings from oil proceeds while lamenting that the Excess Crude account which has depleted to $3.6bn cannot sustain the nation in the event of an economic crisis.



“Should the price of oil drop we have no question. The $3.6bn in the excess crude account is not enough to sustain Nigeria for any period of time. Now that the price of oil is high we should be happy but because the quantity we produce as a country has dropped, we are not selling expected quantities so not much money is coming in. We are selling below budgeted quantities”.

She also disclosed that the Sovereign Wealth Fund which was created from the excess crude account could have been launched with more than $1bn but for stiff opposition from state governors who only sanctioned its creation with a capital of $1bn.

She allayed fears among state governors and Nigerians that $1bn-capital Sovereign Wealth Fund would be mismanaged by the Federal Government, pointing out that the Sovereign Wealth Act which establishes the Fund adequately provides for accountability in its management.

The Minister noted that fiscal federalism has created problems for the management of the Nigerian economy, saying “Nigeria, because of fiscal federalism cannot save. The constitution says the President should manage the economy for the benefit of everybody. The decision to save is also part of the management of the economy for the benefit of the people of Nigeria. Every state can save but the Federal Government can save for all Nigerians. The governors can insist on accountability in the management of the SWF as a guarantee against their apprehension.

“It is difficult getting governors to agree to $1bn savings for the SWF. We had the state governors saying they can only allow $1bn. Now they say it is illegal and the country is not able to save. In the excess crude account today we have left only about $3.6bn. Should the oil price drop today we have no cushion because $3.6bn for this economy is not enough to take us to any length of time.”

“The fear is that the Federal Government is dipping hands into these accounts but it is not true. We can tell you at any point in time how much is in what account. So there should be no fear that these monies would disappear.”

According to the minister, the Nigerian economy is being affected by developments in the global community that depends, especially as the nation’s only main foreign exchange earner, oil, is consumed mainly in Europe and America, regions that now face severe economic problems.

“There is no money stacked up anywhere, which is why I am pushing for savings in case the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) does not sell crude oil or cannot remit money as is being experienced in recent times. 60 per cent of our money and products comes from and goes to Europe and USA, if they are not doing well we suffer too. Unemployment in the USA is at a crisis level same as in Europe.

Pushing for savings of only $ 1 B after having earned or should have earned more than $ 500 B in the past 5 years alone? Hahahaa....Nigerians will choke to death with this fresh air and I will have fun just poking them with jokes all day long!

Was the opposition in charge of the finance ministry? Or presidency? What have you done with the several hundreds of billions before the opposition challenged you to account for what you have stolen so far?? Hahaha...phoolish useless leaders and people!

(phoolish) i can understand why you are not objective tipical (phoolish)