The federal, state and local governments will next month share $2 billion from the excess crude account for the purpose of facilitating sundry development projects undergoing execution by the different tiers of government across the country.
This is just as President Goodluck Jonathan has presented share certificates to the federal government, the 36 states of the federation and their local government councils, including the area councils in the FCT in accordance to their equity in the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and the National Integrated Power Plants (NIPPs).
Briefing State House correspondents after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the presidential villa, Abuja, chairman of PDP governors’ forum, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State noted that the decision to share about $1 to $2 billion among the federal, state and local governments followed an update on the status of the Excess Crude Account which was presented by the minister of state for finance, Yerima Ngama.
According to Akpabio, the status of the excess crude account as presented before NEC by Ngama showed that “$7.82b was left in the account, after the sharing of $1b by the three tiers of government earlier in the year and payment of fuel subsidy commitments.
“The council was also briefed on the plan to share about $1b next month to facilitate various development projects being executed by the different tiers of government across the country”, the governor added.
Meanwhile, the president yesterday presented share certificates to governors of the 36 states of the federation, their local government areas and the six area councils of the FCT based on their contribution to National Independent Power Plant project.
Jonathan who attended the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting to make the presentation before jetting out to Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea for a two day working visit hinted that the investment of state governments in the sovereign wealth funds would also be available soon.
The president noted that this was necessary since the funding was from the excess crude account adding that it means that states and local governments are co investors in the NIPP with the federal government.
He said, “The certificates of investments of the states and local governments in NIPP are ready. That of the Sovereign Wealth Fund too will soon be ready. This is just to inform Nigerians of what we are doing because a number of them don’t even know that there are investments of the states in the NIPP. You all remember that during President Obasanjo’s time, some monies were set aside from the excess crude and the federal government was directly funding the NIPP projects with that money.
“Then, the chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission, Engr Tukur took the federal government to court, saying the federal government has no power to spend money belonging to the three tiers of government. Until when we came on board, the NIPP was stalled, we then decided to negotiate with the governors to do it in such a way that it will be proper investment where all states and local governments will have investment based on their own amount in the excess crude account”.
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