http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/42996-nigeria-is-going-broke-says-okonjo-iweala.html

NIGERIANS got yesterday a rare insight
into this country’s financial health. But
the news is not cheery. The country is going
broke, with only $3.6 billion left in the
excess crude account, Finance Minister Dr
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said.
The Coordinating Minister for the Economy
(CME) spoke when she met with members of
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Abuja
to discuss the government’s transformation
agenda.
In her view, governors’ insistence on sharing
every revenue is unhealthy for the country.
With just $3.6 billion left in the excess crude
account after withdrawals to augment
monthly allocations to the three tiers of
government, Dr Okonjo-Iweala warned that
“should the price of oil drop, we have no
cushion”.
“The $3.6 billion in the excess crude account
is not enough to sustain Nigeria for any
period of time,” she said.
Following the governors’ determination to
share everything that comes into the
federation account as stipulated by the
Constitution, the minister wondered aloud:
“how many governors have saved any
money? They should understand the
dynamics.”
While she admitted that some governors
have saved some money from their states’
allocations, Dr Okonjo-Iweala noted that “if
we don’t have arguments of constitutionality
and fiscal federalism, we will progress and
we need to address this”.
By this, she meant that there should be less
talk about what the Constitution says and the
desire for fiscal federalism and concentrate
on saving for the future.
But, advocates of fiscal federalism insists it
should be no problem, if the Federal
Government agrees to reduce its share of the
revenue allocation and allow the states and
local governments, which carry bigger loads
to have more cash.
The minister recalled that “it was difficult
getting governors to agree to $1 billion
savings for the Sovereign Wealth Fund
(SWF)”.
“Now that the price of oil is high, we should
be happy but because the quantity we
produce as a country has dropped, we are
not selling expected quantities. So, not much
money is coming in. We are selling below
budgeted quantities,” she said.
The Federal Government, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala
said, “is not dipping hands in anything”. I
can tell you how much is in every account.
We must save for the future because soon
Ghana and Angola will join the league of
countries that have savings, whereas Nigeria
is fast depleting the little she has.”
She went on: “Nigeria, because of fiscal
federalism, cannot save. The Constitution
says the President should manage the
economy for the benefit of everybody; the
decision to save is also part of the
management of the economy for the benefit
of the people of Nigeria. Every state can
save, but the Federal Government can save
for all Nigerians. The governors can insist
on accountability in the management of the
SWF as a guarantee against their
apprehension.”
To her, the governors are “100 per cent right
to demand for transparency and how and
what the money saved is spent”. “But, they
are on the council of the SWF as well as Civil
Society Organisations; there should be no
fear. Saving is the right thing to do.”
Nigeria, she said, is not leaving in isolation
and it is a part of a global community that
depends on a product sold internationally.
The revenue that comes from the sale of this
single product (crude oil), she added, comes
periodically, stressing that “there is no
money stacked up anywhere, which is why I
am pushing for savings, in case the Nigeria
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
does not sell crude oil or cannot remit
money as it’s being experienced in recent
times.”
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala argued that since “60 per
cent of our money and products comes from
and goes to Europe and USA, if they are not
doing well, we suffer too. “Unemployment in
the USA is at a crisis level same as in
Europe,” she said.
“That product determines how the economy
grows and the nation’s expenditure
fluctuates with revenue. Such volatile
pattern of development crashes the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP). To make
expenditure smooth necessitated budget
benchmarking.”
She noted that the years between 2003 and
2007 were the only steady time in Nigeria’s
recent economic life because it was when
Nigeria saved and after the period
(2008-2009), when the price of oil crashed,
the government was drawing from savings to
pay bills.
The minister dropped another bombshell
when she disclosed that the ministry does not
know how much is spent on subsidy. What
the ministry does, according to her, “is to get
the accountants to verify what the importers
present as their imports and pay them”.
She said there was no way her ministry
could accurately determine how much
petroleum products are imported and how
much are actually sold in Nigeria.
According to Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, “what we
are doing is subsidising other countries”.
“We have genuine importers, but must
separate them from the smugglers who ferry
petroleum products to other countries after
claiming to import the products to Nigeria,”
she said, wondering if there is a way of
stopping the smugglers.
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said in 2006, N256
billion was spent on subsidy, but over the
years, this has skyrocketed to the extent that
governors became worried that they were
being short-changed.
The heavy deduction for subsidy, she said,
was what resulted in the November and
December 2011 refusal by governors to
collect their allocations, until the subsidy
was removed.
Giving an insight into what to expect from
the report of the subsidy removal probe by
the National Assembly, the minister said:
“when the report comes out, we will know
those who are genuine importers and those
who are not”.
To her, the government “did not explain
itself well and did not wait long enough
before removing the subsidy in January” –
an admittance that the government acted in
a hurry. Despite the protest and the
government’s conceding to the wishes of the
people, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said, the
government is still paying subsidy, but
partially.
She also admitted that the economy that is
growing at 7.9 per cent and yet claims to be
creating jobs is not inclusive. She attributed
this development to “challenges”, stressing
that jobs must be inclusive and target rural
areas.
According to her, we are “growing at 7.9 per
cent with no power. You can imagine what
the growth will be like, if power was stable.”
On the erratic electric power situation, Mrs
Okonjo-Iweala said privatising the Power
Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) should
be fair and transparent and not under the
table. She said: “Government has decided to
get away from what it has not succeeded in
doing in the past. Power that we get is
heavily subsidised. Investors have insisted
that tariff must match cost of producing
power. They will not purchase the
companies, unless the government
announces the new tariff, but government is
scared of the backlash from the masses, if it
announces the new tariff.”

Is tha' rite?
So how much did YOU meet dia?
Why she dey do like say she nor follow chop the money?
Time to run to World Bank abi na UN.
We now see how you got ya PHD with ya arzzzze!
Na so una dey balance account for Harvard?
O li nshi.

Mu he he he he he

Otolo gba gbu kwa g'ike na otu gi dia!

Mgbeke Anuofia!!!!

Greed could be a bad thing but when combined with desperation it becomes dangerous.
Okonjo Iweal?!Hmnn!