The Presidency has denied reports that the Excess Crude Account has
been liquidated and used as Presidential relief package for states and
local government.
The excess crude account is still intact, and will be left untouched
at this time, the Presidency said, adding that the relief package was
drawn from the $2.1 billion dividend paid by the Nigeria Liquified
Natural Gas Company (NLNG) into the federation account.
Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) Ahmed Idris, had on Monday
told journalists that he had met between $1.6 and $1.7 billion in the
excess crude account and this was to be immediately shared between the
three tiers of government.
“What we met is hovering between $1.6 to $1.7 billion, and that is
what we are going to distribute among all the three tiers of
governments, the federal, states and local governments based on the
approved formula” Idris had said on Monday in response to questions on
the state of the Excess Crude Account.
This had been a contrast to what the Edo State Governor, Adams
Oshiomole had said last week after the National Economic Council (NEC)
meeting. The governor had announced that the excess crude account now
had a balance of $2.0billion.
The NEC had also set up a four man committee to investigate the
operations of the excess crude account, alongside the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) and the federation account.
However Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina, in a statement, Tuesday,
said neither President Muhammadu Buhari nor the NEC approved the
liquidation of the account.
“Reports in sections of the media today that funds will be drawn from
the Excess Crude Account for the relief package approved by President
Muhammadu Buhari for states and local governments, are incorrect”
Adesina said in his statement.
According to the statement, for the purpose of greater clarity on the
matter, the measures approved by the President to deal with the
problem of unpaid public sector salaries in many include the sharing
of the $2.1 Billion dividend paid to the Federation Account by the
Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG); A Central Bank-packaged
special intervention fund that will offer financing to the states,
ranging from N250 Billion to N300 Billion. This will be a soft loan
available to states for the purposes of paying backlog of salaries;
and A debt relief program designed by the Debt Management Office which
will help states restructure their commercial loans currently put at
over N660 Billion, and extend the life span of such loans while
reducing their debt-servicing expenditures.
“The measures approved by President Buhari definitely do not include
drawing down the remaining balance in the Excess Crude Account or the
“liquidation” of the account as some media outlets have wrongly
reported.
“No such decision has been taken or approved by President Buhari, and
last week’s meeting of the National Economic Council clearly
concluded that the Excess Crude Account should be left untouched at
this time” the statement read in part.
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