Excess crude account: States get $1bn

President Goodluck Jonathan has approved distribution of $1billion from the excess crude account among the 36 States and FCT.
This was part of decisions taken at the National Economic council at its first meeting for the year.
Governor of Rivers State Rotimi Amaechi who briefed newsmen after the meeting said there is a total balance of $9.242 billion, in the excess crude account after $1billion was spent on subsidy payments by the Federal Government.

FAAC: Excess Crude Accounts hits $9.6bn

The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) lodged N161.59 billion to the Excess Crude Account (ECA), bringing the new balance to 9.66 billion dollars.
The Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Jonah Otunla made this known to reporters at the end of the technical sub-meeting of the FAAC for the month of November.
The accountant-general also commented on the recent demand by the 36 state governors for the withdrawal of one billion dollars from the oil savings account. He said that the federal and state governments would be guided by the “principle of consensus’’ to resolve the matter.
Earlier, Otunla had told reporters that the country’s mineral and non-mineral dropped to N569.46 billion in November compared with N640.76 billion realized the previous month. A breakdown of the figures showed that a total sum of N483.2 billion was generated as revenue from mineral resources, while N86.2 billion was derived from the non-mineral sector. He attributed the drop to several disruptions in crude oil production and lifting operation in the Niger Delta. He noted that during the period a Force Majeure was declared by Exxon Mobil. Otunla said that leakage and fire outbreaks at Trans Niger, crude oil theft and maintenance work at oil terminals at Qua Iboe, Brass and Forcadoes also affected crude oil production.

NEITI to Audit Excess Crude Account, Derivation Fund

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) will commence a comprehensive and independent audit of the fiscal allocation and statutory disbursements of the extractive industries revenue funds from the federation account to Nigeria's three tiers of government.

The audit will amongst other objectives establish how funds from the account were distributed and received by the federal, state and local government councils.

A statement from NEITI in Abuja stated that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, approved the project at its last meeting on Wednesday, November 28.

NEITI said in the statement that the audit was equally designed to provide base line information and data to the three tiers of government on the basis of computation of who gets what, how and why.

It added that the exercise would also explain if each of the three tiers gets from the funds their actual due.

NEITI also noted that the audit is expected to review policies and procedures in the disbursement and utilization of extractive revenue funds by the three tiers of government and that major agencies to be covered by it include the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Petroleum Development Technology Fund (PDTF), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Government's share of derivation and ecology funds.

Excess Crude Account: FG, States fail to reach settlement

The dispute between the Federal Government and the 36 states of the federation over the management of the revenue accruing to the federation keeps lingering as the states has asked the Supreme Court to go ahead on adjudicating on the suit challenging the operation of the Excess Crude Account (ECA). The states told the court that they had lost confidence in the ability of the Federal Government to reach an out-of-court settlement with them on the dispute and it should proceed with definite hearing of the case.

Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), who represented the states, told the court that his clients wanted the case decided on merit since the parties had not been able to come up with amicable settlement terms. Awomolo insisted that the matter before the court was a constitutional one and not political. He prayed the court to hear and give a definite pronouncement on the suit, which has been pending since 2008.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court fixed May 9, 2013 for reports of settlement. It also ordered the parties to make sure that all processes were filed before that day.

The 36 states of the federation had sued the Federal Government over plans to transfer $1 billion from the ECA to a new account known as the Sovereign Wealth Fund. But the Federal Government sought to settle the matter out of court. Based on the application, the Supreme Court afforded the parties the opportunity to settle the matter and report back with the report of settlement. This, the parties had failed to achieve.

Excess Crude Account: FG gets New Settlement Terms from states

States have proposed new conditions to resolve the lingering dispute between them and the Federal Government over illegal deductions from the Federation Account. Counsel to the Federal Government, Mr. Austin Aleghe, informed the Supreme Court of the new development when hearing resumed in the suit filed by the states seeking, among others, an order of the court to stop further deductions from the ECA to fund payment for fuel subsidy pending the determination of the suit.

According to the proposed new terms of agreement, the Federal Government will undertake and agree that upon the execution of the terms of settlement, it shall cause all sums standing to the credit of the ECA to be transferred to the Federation Account and distributed within 10 days from the execution of the terms of settlement to the three tiers of government—federal, state and local governments.

Under the new terms, the states are demanding that a limited liability company be established to take over the operations of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) and the $8.425 billion invested in it. They are also demanding that the shares be allotted to the Federal Government, the states and the 774 local government areas with the rights and obligation of each shareholder spelt out.

Similarly, the states are demanding that the $250 million invested in the railway modernisation projects be transferred to a limited liability company, to be formed, in which the Federal Government, the states and the local government areas shall be the shareholders.