Purpose Of Excess Crude Account Defeated – Lawmaker

The Lawmaker representing Degema/Bonny Constituency in the House of Representatives, Farah Dagogo, has said the purpose of establishing the Excess Crude Account(ECA), has been defeated following the announcement by the Federal Government on the country’s Excess Crude Account Balance, showing a depletion.
Dagogo gave this hint in a chat with newsmen, at a recent event in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
According to him, “for clarity, the purpose of the Excess Crude Account that was set up in 2004, which later metamorphosed to Sovereign Wealth Fund in 2011, has been clearly defeated. The three cardinal objectives of ECA was for supporting the budget in times of economic stress, including to hedge against volatile crude oil prices; to save for future generations of Nigerians; to invest in domestic infrastructure; now has any of them being met?”
He noted that the depletion of the funds without tangible explanation was unacceptable, describing the situation as worrisome.
He stressed that, “the answer is a capital no, and it is unacceptable to the people of my region, whom semantically speaking, are the goose that lays the golden eggs that is being pilfered unhindered. I strongly believe that this daylight stealing and mismanagement should be a grave concern and abhorrent to people of good conscience”.
The Lawmaker lamented the depreciating figures and wondered the justification for expending the funds without due consideration for the Niger Delta people from whose region the monies were generated and were wallowing in poor living conditions.
“Today in Nigeria, the cost of living has risen astromically. We were in paradise in 2015 if we were to make a comparative analysis of what was applicable then and now as to what majority of the masses are facing and passing through daily. To feed a day in Nigeria is akin to the dromedary carmel passing through the eye of a needle. Yet, we hear mind boggling depletion of our commonwealth with nothing tangible to show for it”, he added.
It would be recalled that the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mr. Clem Agba, during the National Economic Council meeting at the State House in Abuja recently, said that the ECA as at 13th October 2021 stood at $60, 857,773.43, while the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, in a statement by his media aide, Laolu Akande, last Friday quoted the Minister, as saying “Excess Crude Account balance as at 13th October 2021 stands at $60, 857,773.43;
“Stabilisation Account, balance as at 13th October stands at N25,009,892,511.55; Development of Natural Resources Account balance as at 13th October 2021 stands at N56,144,024,000.71”.

By: Tonye Nria-Dappa