mikeapollo:

Dont mind this attention-seeking woman. She was the head of the so-called 'Due Process Office' under Obasanjo when over $16Billion was spent on power projects without nothing to show for it. Some of the money was even paid to fictitious and non-existing companies.

She belongs to the Obasanjo camp....together with Fani-Kayode, Soludo, El-Rufai and Ribadu etc. They are making noise to seek attention because they are no longer favoured by the government.

During the power-probe, she rushed down from US to come and defend Obasanjo.

A few weeks ago, she was at a PDP event to celebrate Obasanjo, and she was eulogising Obasanjo to high heavens, despite all the corruption in his govt.

I am not a fan of GEJ or PDP, but I dont like hypocrites. When they were in govt, they were telling us that all was well....but all of a sudden, they have turned into 'emergency activists' because they are out of favour. HYPOCRITES!

Any good follower of International Economics knows that Nigeria was able to save much because the price of Oil went to as high as $140/barrel during the economic boom of 2003-2007. It is common sense that the external reserves would be negatively affected when the price of oil fell to below $40/barrel for about 2 years.

Ezekwesili will be embarrased if Okonjo-Iweala comes out to debunk her claims.....afterall, Okonjo was the Finance Minister and the person who allegedly helped her to get the WB job, and invariably her senior too

The FG should ignore her. She cant even face Sanusi

taharqa: I just dey laugh. So its not $67bn, but $45bn (since d ECA is a SUBSET of d Foreign Reserves as she just admittd). The Govt guys were right aftall.... By d way, what took Ezekwesili this long to mk dis clarification. She shld be careful so that Politics and a quest for Power by sm people, do not destroy whateva reputatn she has of not bn friviolous..... Ova now to those Resident IJIOTS who were arguing with sm of us when dis issue were trending then. @Gbawe, @Demdem, @Omo-koko, @Lacasa, @Seanten1, @Garriman, etc

naijaguy77: ECA - Excess Crude Account

The ECA was conceived by the OBJ regime as a savings account to put money away for a "rainy day". Since we base our budget on price of oil, if we say we budget $65 per barrel at 2m barrels per day, during the year, we may be fortunate and oil might actually trade at $100 per barrel and we might succeed in producing an average of 2.3m barrels per day. The excess money we earn would then go into the ECA. This was fantastic public funds management by OBJ, especially because oil prices fluctuate a lot, and sometimes we earn less than we anticipated, the funds in the ECA would the be our saviour on such a rainy day.

This was all going well, but there was one problem. The greedy governors realised the the ECA, though a good for the country, was actually unconstitutional, therefore illegal. The governors (including Fashola) threatened sue the FG if all the money was not immediately "shared".

This puts the FG in a very difficult position, as the FG knows that it is sound economic policy and prudent management to save for a rainy day. Everytime the ECA funds build up to any significant amount, the governors would come and insist on sharing the money or else they will go to court.

This is the genesis of the ECA depletion. The governors want the money shared even when it is not a "rainy day". And members of the national assembly also insist on sharing the money, usually insisting that Nigeria has many problems and do not need to save money that can be used to "solve our problems". Essentially, every arm of government bar the executive arm of FG is against savings.

After much bickering, the FG through NOI conceived of the Soverign Wealth Fund, which would be backed by law, as a compromise and a way to ensure that some money is put away for emergency. Even at this, the legislature and govs made sure the cut the FG down and insist on a meagre $1 billion for the SWF.

So, is it right to accuse the FG of squandering the money in ECA? Well, yes the FG also got their share of the money, but it is wrong to blame it on the FG, as all the state governors unite in this matter, and their position is always, we must "share" (spend) the money.

Again, it is wrong for Madam Ezekwesili to insinuate that the FG is responsible for this squandering. The entire nation, and all parties - PDP, APC, ACN, Anpp, etc is responsible.

The truth is, the Federal Government of Nigeria is made up of very inept and unsound people, who are almost always up to no good, such that even when someone like Madam Ezekwesili makes an unsound accusation, instead of the FG to take her on and expose her as unsound, their first instinct is to run and hide, or to respond with even more unsound rhetoric. Shameful really, considering that Madam Ezekwesili can be taken apart in 2 minutes. Shame on FG.

naijaguy77: This is Economic Illiteracy at the highest level. I used hold Madam Ezekwesili in high regard until this issue.

The foreign reserve is the foreign currency we get when we export our goods or services. Since we cannot spend dollars in Nigeria, we print the Naira equivalent of the dollar and spend i.e. If Mr Okoro exports cassava to USA, he earns $$s, he can't pay his farmers in $$s, nor can he buy other goods and services, so he takes his dollars to the bank (cbn), they print the naira equivalent and give to him, cbn collects the dollars and keeps in the Forex Reserve. 2 weeks later, Mr Okoro wants to import machinery for his business, he has naira but needs $$s, he takes his naira to cbn, who then exchange it and give him $$ equivalent taken from our Forex Reserve.

Anytime you pop champagne in a club, invite Kim Kardashian, or buy a car, you are contributing to the depletion of our Forex Reserve. Anytime you consume imported goods or services that have to ultimately be paid for using forex, you are contributing to the depletion of the Forex Reserve. It is that simple.

The Forex Reserve is not such a big deal, it is just a mechanism/tool used by the CBN for stabilising the local currency. So is it correct to accuse the FG of squandering the Forex Reserve? NO. Anyone who makes such an accusation is more or less an economic illiterate. The following can easily lead to the depletion of Forex Reserve:

1) Increase in consumption of Foreign Goods and Services. E.g. Cars, Food, Foreign Education, Machinery, Expatriate worker demand, or Kim Kadashian.

2) Decrease in value of export. E.g. Fall in oil prices.

3) Increase in the value of the Naira against the Forex Reserve currency.

4) A combination of some or all of the above.

The following points above mean that, NO matter how PRUDENT the FG is, the forex reserve can still be depleted by the lack of productivity of the economy, or the profligacy and foreign taste of the citizens. It is therefore very silly to accuse the FG of squandering the Forex Reserve.

Does FG also contribute to depletion of FR? YES, but nothing on the scale of other consumers in the economy. The FG would need forex just like other stakeholders in the economy, and their need, relatively speaking, is certainly not huge as the rest of the country combined. Ironically, it is the FG, through oil export earnings by NNPC and Oil companies, that is the largest contributor to the Forex Reserve.

Economic Illiteracy can make you look stupid, it certain has done so the Madam Ezekwesili.

Stay tuned for part 2 - Excess Crude Account (ECA)

taharqa: I just dey laugh. So its not $67bn, but $45bn (since d ECA is a SUBSET of d Foreign Reserves as she just admittd). The Govt guys were right aftall.... By d way, what took Ezekwesili this long to mk dis clarification. She shld be careful so that Politics and a quest for Power by sm people, do not destroy whateva reputatn she has of not bn friviolous..... Ova now to those Resident IJIOTS who were arguing with sm of us when dis issue were trending then. @Gbawe, @Demdem, @Omo-koko, @Lacasa, @Seanten1, @Garriman, etc

taharqa: I just dey laugh. So its not $67bn, but $45bn (since d ECA is a SUBSET of d Foreign Reserves as she just admittd). The Govt guys were right aftall.... By d way, what took Ezekwesili this long to mk dis clarification. She shld be careful so that Politics and a quest for Power by sm people, do not destroy whateva reputatn she has of not bn friviolous..... Ova now to those Resident IJIOTS who were arguing with sm of us when dis issue were trending then. @Gbawe, @Demdem, @Omo-koko, @Lacasa, @Seanten1, @Garriman, etc

naijaguy77: ECA - Excess Crude Account

The ECA was conceived by the OBJ regime as a savings account to put money away for a "rainy day". Since we base our budget on price of oil, if we say we budget $65 per barrel at 2m barrels per day, during the year, we may be fortunate and oil might actually trade at $100 per barrel and we might succeed in producing an average of 2.3m barrels per day. The excess money we earn would then go into the ECA. This was fantastic public funds management by OBJ, especially because oil prices fluctuate a lot, and sometimes we earn less than we anticipated, the funds in the ECA would the be our saviour on such a rainy day.

This was all going well, but there was one problem. The greedy governors realised the the ECA, though a good for the country, was actually unconstitutional, therefore illegal. The governors (including Fashola) threatened sue the FG if all the money was not immediately "shared".

This puts the FG in a very difficult position, as the FG knows that it is sound economic policy and prudent management to save for a rainy day. Everytime the ECA funds build up to any significant amount, the governors would come and insist on sharing the money or else they will go to court.

This is the genesis of the ECA depletion. The governors want the money shared even when it is not a "rainy day". And members of the national assembly also insist on sharing the money, usually insisting that Nigeria has many problems and do not need to save money that can be used to "solve our problems". Essentially, every arm of government bar the executive arm of FG is against savings.

After much bickering, the FG through NOI conceived of the Soverign Wealth Fund, which would be backed by law, as a compromise and a way to ensure that some money is put away for emergency. Even at this, the legislature and govs made sure the cut the FG down and insist on a meagre $1 billion for the SWF.

So, is it right to accuse the FG of squandering the money in ECA? Well, yes the FG also got their share of the money, but it is wrong to blame it on the FG, as all the state governors unite in this matter, and their position is always, we must "share" (spend) the money.

Again, it is wrong for Madam Ezekwesili to insinuate that the FG is responsible for this squandering. The entire nation, and all parties - PDP, APC, ACN, Anpp, etc is responsible.

The truth is, the Federal Government of Nigeria is made up of very inept and unsound people, who are almost always up to no good, such that even when someone like Madam Ezekwesili makes an unsound accusation, instead of the FG to take her on and expose her as unsound, their first instinct is to run and hide, or to respond with even more unsound rhetoric. Shameful really, considering that Madam Ezekwesili can be taken apart in 2 minutes. Shame on FG.

Napoleondegreat:


Ninconpump! Foreign reserve is not the same thing as forex reserve

Omo_Tier1:
Where these governors not there when OBJ saved so much in those accounts? Or did the governors assume magical powers over night? Your type that reason with their head ridden with sentimental bullcrap is partly responses for where the country is today!

If FG's claims are to be believed, why haven't the account increased over the last four years

naijaguy77:

Can you not read?

Of course the governors began their clamour during OBJ, it has remained a running dispute between governors and FG for almost 10 years.

hercules07:

The total still stands at 67 billion sha, anyway, we need to look at why our "reserves" are this low during this boom period.

hercules07:

The total still stands at 67 billion sha, anyway, we need to look at why our "reserves" are this low during this boom period.

njokusboy:
Mr man, go and look for the meaning of excess crude reserve (ECA) and subset nd tell me how it adds up to 67 billion, u seem not to know d meaning of d words.

ochukoccna:
Exactly
Since facts speak for themselves let the FG economic technocrats take up her debate offer and expose her 'economic illiteracy' once for all

Note if caution:Dumb economic illiterates dont get to work for the World Bank.

naijaguy77: This is Economic Illiteracy at the highest level. I used hold Madam Ezekwesili in high regard until this issue.

The foreign reserve is the foreign currency we get when we export our goods or services. Since we cannot spend dollars in Nigeria, we print the Naira equivalent of the dollar and spend i.e. If Mr Okoro exports cassava to USA, he earns $$s, he can't pay his farmers in $$s, nor can he buy other goods and services, so he takes his dollars to the bank (cbn), they print the naira equivalent and give to him, cbn collects the dollars and keeps in the Forex Reserve. 2 weeks later, Mr Okoro wants to import machinery for his business, he has naira but needs $$s, he takes his naira to cbn, who then exchange it and give him $$ equivalent taken from our Forex Reserve.

Anytime you pop champagne in a club, invite Kim Kardashian, or buy a car, you are contributing to the depletion of our Forex Reserve. Anytime you consume imported goods or services that have to ultimately be paid for using forex, you are contributing to the depletion of the Forex Reserve. It is that simple.

The Forex Reserve is not such a big deal, it is just a mechanism/tool used by the CBN for stabilising the local currency. So is it correct to accuse the FG of squandering the Forex Reserve? NO. Anyone who makes such an accusation is more or less an economic illiterate. The following can easily lead to the depletion of Forex Reserve:

1) Increase in consumption of Foreign Goods and Services. E.g. Cars, Food, Foreign Education, Machinery, Expatriate worker demand, or Kim Kadashian.

2) Decrease in value of export. E.g. Fall in oil prices.

3) Increase in the value of the Naira against the Forex Reserve currency.

4) A combination of some or all of the above.

The following points above mean that, NO matter how PRUDENT the FG is, the forex reserve can still be depleted by the lack of productivity of the economy, or the profligacy and foreign taste of the citizens. It is therefore very silly to accuse the FG of squandering the Forex Reserve.

Does FG also contribute to depletion of FR? YES, but nothing on the scale of other consumers in the economy. The FG would need forex just like other stakeholders in the economy, and their need, relatively speaking, is certainly not huge as the rest of the country combined. Ironically, it is the FG, through oil export earnings by NNPC and Oil companies, that is the largest contributor to the Forex Reserve.

Economic Illiteracy can make you look stupid, it certain has done so the Madam Ezekwesili.

Stay tuned for part 2 - Excess Crude Account (ECA)

Omo_Tier1:
Duh....excess crude account is as the name says and the money that goes in there are part of the reserves which is suppose to be used to finance infrastructural development ( that is hugely lacking in the country) and also serve as a fall back savings.

Orikinla: [size=18pt]Aunty Okonjo-Iweala knows Ezekwesili very well and knows that what she has said is simply the truth and will not debunk it. That is why she has not joined Okupe and the other ignorant mouthpieces of GEJ to challenge Madam Due Process.[/size]

berem: Dude, please learn how to write your words in full. How could you be writing words in short form? Am so ashamed that a graduate like you, that is if you are one, writes like a University drop out.If you are trying to make your points understandable, write your comments well. smh

mikeapollo:

Dont mind this attention-seeking woman. She was the head of the so-called 'Due Process Office' under Obasanjo when over $16Billion was spent on power projects with nothing to show for it. Some of the money was even paid to fictitious and non-existing companies.

She belongs to the Obasanjo camp....together with Fani-Kayode, Soludo, El-Rufai and Ribadu etc. They are making noise to seek attention because they are no longer favoured by the government.

During the power-probe, she rushed down from US to come and defend Obasanjo.

A few weeks ago, she was at a PDP event to celebrate Obasanjo, and she was eulogising Obasanjo to high heavens, despite all the corruption in his govt.

I am not a fan of GEJ or PDP, but I dont like hypocrites. When they were in govt, they were telling us that all was well....but all of a sudden, they have turned into 'emergency activists' because they are out of favour. HYPOCRITES!

Any good follower of International Economics knows that Nigeria was able to save much because the price of Oil went to as high as $140/barrel during the economic boom of 2003-2007. It is common sense that the external reserves would be negatively affected when the price of oil fell to below $40/barrel for about 2 years.

Ezekwesili will be embarrased if Okonjo-Iweala comes out to debunk her claims.....afterall, Okonjo was the Finance Minister and the person who allegedly helped her to get the WB job, and invariably her senior too

The FG should ignore her. She cant even face Sanusi

njokusboy:
Haba oga d excess crude account is a subset of the foreign reserves means dat d excess crude account is part of the foreign reserves so d value of the foreign reserves plus the excess crude account still stands at #45b, dats wat d lady is tryna say, saying d foreign reserves amounts to #67B, leads to an overstatement of the actual values in real terms. Owk. Na so d tin go.

mikeapollo:

Dont mind this attention-seeking woman. She was the head of the so-called 'Due Process Office' under Obasanjo when over $16Billion was spent on power projects with nothing to show for it. Some of the money was even paid to fictitious and non-existing companies.

She belongs to the Obasanjo camp....together with Fani-Kayode, Soludo, El-Rufai and Ribadu etc. They are making noise to seek attention because they are no longer favoured by the government.

During the power-probe, she rushed down from US to come and defend Obasanjo.

A few weeks ago, she was at a PDP event to celebrate Obasanjo, and she was eulogising Obasanjo to high heavens, despite all the corruption in his govt.

I am not a fan of GEJ or PDP, but I dont like hypocrites. When they were in govt, they were telling us that all was well....but all of a sudden, they have turned into 'emergency activists' because they are out of favour. HYPOCRITES!

Any good follower of International Economics knows that Nigeria was able to save much because the price of Oil went to as high as $140/barrel during the economic boom of 2003-2007. It is common sense that the external reserves would be negatively affected when the price of oil fell to below $40/barrel for about 2 years.

Ezekwesili will be embarrased if Okonjo-Iweala comes out to debunk her claims.....afterall, Okonjo was the Finance Minister and the person who allegedly helped her to get the WB job, and invariably her senior too

The FG should ignore her. She cant even face Sanusi

vislabraye:

Any one who praises OBJ is suspect. Its difficult for me to trust any one of them, either Ngozi or Oby.
This debate should be a means to an end and not a spectacle. I want everyone of them probed. Oby should be made to give an account of her stewardship.

eGuerrilla:

Source

njokusboy:
Haba oga d excess crude account is a subset of the foreign reserves means dat d excess crude account is part of the foreign reserves so d value of the foreign reserves plus the excess crude account still stands at #45b, dats wat d lady is tryna say, saying d foreign reserves amounts to #67B, leads to an overstatement of the actual values in real terms. Owk. Na so d tin go.

2ru-talk:


Coward! So the woman should keep quiet because others refuse to talk. This is real African Man's mentality. little wonder our leaders are treating us this way and everybody is dying in silence waiting for the next person to act. My dear, "evil triumph because good people do nothing".

berem: Dude, please learn how to write your words in full. How could you be writing words in short form? Am so ashamed that a graduate like you, that is if you are one, writes like a University drop out.If you are trying to make your points understandable, write your comments well. smh

yommys01: Are you suggesting she should allow herself to be compromised like others you mentioned have? How come the government have never come out to properly defend themselves instead of going for cheap blackmail like they have always done?

Any reason why they don't want the public debate?

Ride on Oby.

naijaguy77: ECA - Excess Crude Account

The ECA was conceived by the OBJ regime as a savings account to put money away for a "rainy day". Since we base our budget on price of oil, if we say we budget $65 per barrel at 2m barrels per day, during the year, we may be fortunate and oil might actually trade at $100 per barrel and we might succeed in producing an average of 2.3m barrels per day. The excess money we earn would then go into the ECA. This was fantastic public funds management by OBJ, especially because oil prices fluctuate a lot, and sometimes we earn less than we anticipated, the funds in the ECA would the be our saviour on such a rainy day.

This was all going well, but there was one problem. The greedy governors realised the the ECA, though a good for the country, was actually unconstitutional, therefore illegal. The governors (including Fashola) threatened sue the FG if all the money was not immediately "shared".

This puts the FG in a very difficult position, as the FG knows that it is sound economic policy and prudent management to save for a rainy day. Everytime the ECA funds build up to any significant amount, the governors would come and insist on sharing the money or else they will go to court.

This is the genesis of the ECA depletion. The governors want the money shared even when it is not a "rainy day". And members of the national assembly also insist on sharing the money, usually insisting that Nigeria has many problems and do not need to save money that can be used to "solve our problems". Essentially, every arm of government bar the executive arm of FG is against savings.

After much bickering, the FG through NOI conceived of the Soverign Wealth Fund, which would be backed by law, as a compromise and a way to ensure that some money is put away for emergency. Even at this, the legislature and govs made sure the cut the FG down and insist on a meagre $1 billion for the SWF.

So, is it right to accuse the FG of squandering the money in ECA? Well, yes the FG also got their share of the money, but it is wrong to blame it on the FG, as all the state governors unite in this matter, and their position is always, we must "share" (spend) the money.

Again, it is wrong for Madam Ezekwesili to insinuate that the FG is responsible for this squandering. The entire nation, and all parties - PDP, APC, ACN, Anpp, etc is responsible.

The truth is, the Federal Government of Nigeria is made up of very inept and unsound people, who are almost always up to no good, such that even when someone like Madam Ezekwesili makes an unsound accusation, instead of the FG to take her on and expose her as unsound, their first instinct is to run and hide, or to respond with even more unsound rhetoric. Shameful really, considering that Madam Ezekwesili can be taken apart in 2 minutes. Shame on FG.