Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Excess Crude Account Rebounds, Hits $6.9bn

Excess Crude Account Rebounds, Hits $6.9bn

By James Emejo
Nigeria ThisDay
12 Apr 2011

The Excess Crude Account (ECA), created to provide succour in rainy days, has increased to about $6.9 billion from about $3 billion in December last year.

The Acting Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Aderemi Ogunsanya, disclosed this to journalists in Abuja Monday at the monthly meeting of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).

Ogunsanya, who was represented at the meeting by the Director of Funds, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr. Babayo Shehu, also said about N70 billion was transferred to the Domestic Excess Crude Account, while $1 billion was moved into the ECA for March 2011.

Meanwhile, the total revenue amounting to N424.578 billion was yesterday shared among the three tiers of government for March.

The figure showed an increase of N11.322 billion or 2.74 per cent compared with the amount shared last month.

Addressing journalists at the close of the monthly meeting last night, Minister of State for Finance, Yawaba Lawan-Wabi, said gross revenue of N615.061 billion was received for the month.

The amount, however, fell short of the N721.684 billion generated the previous month.

The minister blamed the decrease on the reduced crude oil production and export as a result of maintenance work on Edom Platform at Qua-Iboe, Bonny and Amenam terminals as well as sabotage at the Brass terminal and the multiple attacks on the 28-inch Trans-Niger Pipeline.

Distributable statutory revenue for the month stood at N357.933 billion, a decrease of N0.124 billion or 0.035 per cent compared to the figure realised in February, this year.

She said N7.501 billion was proposed as augmentation following the shortfall in distributable revenue.

On the new minimum wage for workers, Chairman, Finance Commissioners' Forum, Rebo Usman, commended its approval by the Federal Government, but warned that the current revenue sharing formula must be altered to enable the states to pay it.

He said though the states were under obligation to comply with the new minimum wage package, the people, he argued, must look at the sources of funding compassionately.

According to him, the infrastructure required to support economic activities and generate robust internally generated revenue (IGR) in the states were still lacking.

On the ultimatum given to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to draw up a repayment plan for its N450 billion debt to the federation account, Rebo said the corporation now had up till May to comply, given that it now had a new helmsman who had not fully grasped the issues surrounding the controversial debt.

No comments: