NEC Meets, Demands Excess Crude Account Details

Six months after the last one was held, a meeting of the National Economic Council consisting of the 36 state governors and some ministers was held  yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Surprisingly however, no mention was made of the money due to the Federation Account which the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation allegedly failed to account for during the meeting presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo.
The missing fund has remained one of the reasons why the meeting which holds monthly had not been convened for the past six months because of the report that members of the Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led faction of the Nigeria Governors Forum were planning to confront Sambo on the matter and other economic issues.
A source at the meeting told our correspondent that the issue of the missing fund was not included on the meeting’s agenda.
“That item was not on the agenda and nobody raised the issue when the agenda was read for amendment in case members have additions to make. You also know that the acting CBN governor was not at the meeting because they are all appearing before the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. Minister of Finance briefed the meeting but no mention was made of the missing fund,” the source said.
Briefing State House correspondents of the meeting’s outcome, Governor Godswill Akpabio, quoted the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), as saying that 17 states have been identified as flashpoint of current clashes between herdsmen and farmers which have left many people dead.
Akpabio further quoted the NSA as saying that his office was working round the clock to stem the tide of the violence.
He said, “Council also discussed the issues pertaining to the current conflicts between the farmers and the pastoralists across the entire country. We received presentations from the NSA on the incessant conflicts being experienced across Nigeria, especially the one of sacking so many villages by criminals in Benue State and other adjoining states in the North.
“According to the NSA presentation, 17 states have been identified as flash points. Of course such states include Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Bauchi, Niger, Nasarawa, Kwara, Kaduna and Oyo. We also reported issues bordering on the conflicts in southern parts of the country like Edo, Akwa Ibom, and Cross Rivers, particularly in the Ogoja area.
“The NSA reported to Council the efforts being made by his office to involve international agencies on the issues, one of which is that it will invite all stakeholders to an international conference to deliberate, adding that the agency based in Geneva, Switzerland is working out the modalities to involve communities in the affected states to find means of settling the conflicts in Plateau and that will now be used as a pilot programme across the entire country.”
He said the council also resolved that Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State should join Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State as co-chair of a committee on grazing reserves earlier set up.
The governor added that the council further resolved that a technical committee be set up to come up with recommendations that can resolve the conflict between the farmers and the pastoralists.
The committee, he said, was directed to meet with all stakeholders within two weeks.
However, the National Economic Council (NEC) in Abuja yesterday requested the Federal Government to give the details of the spending on Excess Crude Account (ECA) to the states.
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio made this known after the NEC meeting presided over by the Vice President Namadi Sambo at the State House.
NEC is the highest economic decision making body statutorily presided over by the vice president with all state governors, FCT Minister, Attorney-General of the Federation and some ministers as members.
Akpabio said the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, told council that the fund in the ECA had risen to about $3.5 billion after payments of fuel subsidy and SURE-P.
“The NEC meeting holds today, the first in 2014. During the meeting the Minister of Finance, our lady Okonjo-Iweala reported to council the progress in the ECA.
“She informed council that as at today, the ECA has risen to about $3.5 billion after payment for fuel subsidy and SURE-P.
“The council deliberated on it and resolved that there was need for expeditious action to be taken to resolve all the legalities surrounding the issues of ECA, particularly the issue of expedition action on the cases pending in court.
“It was also further suggested that at least two separate accounts should be maintained, one for excess crude and the other for SURE-P,’’ he said.
The ECA is an account maintained by the Federal Government to save oil revenues above a base amount derived from a defined benchmark price.
The ECA was established in 2004 and its objective is primarily to protect planned budgets against shortfalls due to volatile crude oil prices.
It will be recalled that in 2010, the NEC approved the plan to replace the ECA with a National Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Following controversies over the sharing formula and spending procedure of the ECA, the 36 state governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum, had dragged the Federal Government to the Supreme Court.
Specifically, the governors are seeking the judicial interpretation of the management of the ECA.