Nigerias Excess Crude Account (ECA) has been drastically depleted under President Muhammadu Buharis administration, falling from over N872,844,000 ($2 billion) left by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 to N156,552,884 ($376,655).
This was disclosed in a communiqu released following the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting for July 2022, held in Abuja on Tuesday: however, it did not provide an explanation for the sharp decrease in the ECA funds.
The ECA fell as Federal, State, and local government allocations increased by N121.624 billion in June, while FAAC shared a total of N802.407 billion. It is said to be funded by the difference between the market price of crude oil and the budgeted price of crude oil as contained in the governments Appropriation Bill.
According to the communiqu, total deductions for the cost of the collection was N44.606 billion and deductions for transfers, savings, refunds and 13 percent derivation to Anambra State was a total sum of N373.200.
The ECA balance which stood at $60 million in October 2021, and fell to $35.8 million in January, has nosedived further to $376,655, plunging the nations economy into regress. Its pitiful status has fuelled further criticism of President Buharis inability to manage the nations resources wisely. His administration has been marked by heavy borrowing, insecurity, inflation, a significant increase in food prices, and general unrest across the country.
The ECA was created in 2004 by former president Olusegun Obasanjo to track the countrys excess revenue from crude oil. The account balance in February 2014, just before Buhari took office, was $3.6 billion, one of the highest balances ever.
In 2015, the then minister of finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala disclosed that the country earned $61.7 billion (about N12.3 trillion) as excess crude oil money between 2011 and 2015.
