Disagrement between Senate and Okonjo- Eweala Over Crude Oil

The Federal Government and the Senate on Monday disagreed over the whereabouts of $1.03 billion Excess Crude Funs.
The disagreement followed the disclosure by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala that the balance in the Excess Crude Account amounted to $4.3 billion.
The minister did not however say the total accrual to the account at a Joint Senate Committee of Finance and Appropriation meeting on the 2013 budget and Federal Government revenue-generating agencies.
A member of the committee, Senator Ita Enang, who was apparently unimpressed by the minister’s disclosure noted that records available to the committee showed the total inflow into the Escrow account was $14.06 billion while the total outflow from the account was $9 billion.
Enang said that left a balance of $5.06 billion.


The minister did not counter the figures released by Enang but insisted that the balance in the Escrow account is $4.03 billion.
Enang had demanded from the minister how much the country has in the Escrow account, how much is paid into the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and what the Escrow account is used for.
Okonjo-Iweala said that the balance in the Escrow account stood at $4.3 billion.
She also told the committee that Escrow account is primarily used for payment of oil subsidy for the country.
The funds, she added, “goes in and comes out almost immediately.”
The minister said, “Excess Crude Account is a federation account matter. It belongs to all tiers of government. When we pay subsidy, it belongs to all tiers of government. So, the Federal Government, states and local governments are all partakers.”
On the status of the SWF, she noted that “the SWF has $1 billion.
She added that “there have not been further payments into the SWF as far as I know.”
The minister noted that though there are leakages in the economy, government had launched actions to block the leakages.