Buhari Under Fire As $1.68bn Disappears From Excess Crude Account

Between November 25 and December 19, the amount in the Excess Crude Account declined by about $1.68bn, statistics obtained from the Federation Account Allocation Committee have revealed.

As of November 25 when the FAAC committee meeting was held to allocate revenue for that month, the balance in the ECA was put at $2.319bn.


However, at the resumed meeting on Wednesday at the headquarters of the ministry of finance, the balance, according to the Permanent Secretary in ministry, Mahmoud Dutse, had dropped to $631m.

Dutse, who briefed journalists shortly after the meeting, said withdrawals were made by the Federal Government from the ECA to settle the last tranche of the Paris Club Refund.

Dutse did not provide the amount withdrawn but the analysis by our correspondent showed that about $1.68bn might have been withdrawn during the three weeks period.

He said, “The balance in the ECA is $631m. The final payment for the Paris Club Refund to states was made and the figure was deducted and that’s what accounts for the difference.”