The Excess Crude Account (ECA), which stood at $2.11 billion as at February 17, 2014, has increased by $1.34 billion, bringing the total savings in the till to $3.45 billion.
This signposts a positive for the account, which has recorded a declining trajectory in recent times due mainly to its draw down to augment the monthly allocation being shared among the three tiers of government from the Federation Account.
A statement issued last night by the Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu on behalf of his principal, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the $1.34 billion represents about 63.5 per cent increase.
According to the statement, the minister described the rise in the ECA as signaling the Federal Government’s commitment to rebuilding the country’s fiscal buffers by increasing the savings in the ECA and strengthening the foreign reserve
This is indeed an encouraging development. Kudos to the Finance Minister and her team. Please keep up the good work.