Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account (ECA) yesterday fell to $3.598 billion from nearly $10 billion in December last year.
The crash in the figures was as a result of several withdrawals including the latest $1 billion withdrawn by the federal government to sustain the diminishing Federation Account which has dropped for over six months now.

The ECA is the joint Federal Government-States Account where excess budget benchmark crude oil price revenue earning is monthly being warehoused for special intervention at critical times. The development is indicative of the financial glitch which has assailed the country following crude oil theft and shut-ins in the Niger Delta region as a result of activities of pipeline vandals.
The Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, recently alerted the nation that if the trend continued, crude oil revenue loss might grow up to about $12 billion.

The high revenue loss forced a compromise between the Federal and State governments to abandon the budgeted monthly revenue estimate for the distribution of funds to states as the estimate had hardly been met for a long time, making the Federal Government to look for funds from other sources to augment the amount for distribution by the three tiers.

Following the understanding reached in August, it was agreed that revenue distribution should be based only on available revenues generated for that month and not the monthly budget estimate. However, it was also agreed that the pending revenue shortfalls before that August compromise be settled fully.

As of yesterday, the pending revenue shortfall still being owed by the Federal Government was N146 billion.

http://thecitizenng.com/governance/excess-crude-account-nosedives-to-3-59b-was-nearly-10b-in-december-2012/

Mr Goodluck Jonathan is the President under whom the largest oil theft in the history of Nigeria is taking place. It is unprecedented. The effects of the mindless crude oil stealing are beginning to manifest. It is also difficult to believe that the problem of pipeline vandalism persists.

When asked on CNN about what he was doing about the problem of crude oil theft, Mr Jonathan surprisingly blamed the oil theft issue on other countries!

It is also amazing, in spite of jumbo security budgets and the gargantuan money being spent and contracts being given to militants, that the problems of oil theft and pipeline vandalism are about to cripple Nigeria financially.

What is the legacy of President Jonathan?

Many people lampooned Pastor Tunde Bakare the other time he said Jonathan will bankrupt Nigeria.

I do hope that Bakare will be proved wrong.

But do the facts on ground support my forlorn hope?

Another Amaechi

oyel money sweet like honey..

Pukkah: Mr Goodluck Jonathan is the President under whom the largest oil theft in the history of Nigeria is taking place. It is unprecedented. The effects of the mindless crude oil stealing are beginning to manifest. It is also difficult to believe that the problem of pipeline vandalism persists.

When asked on CNN about what he was doing about the problem of crude oil theft, Mr Jonathan surprisingly blamed the oil theft issue on other countries!

It is also amazing, in spite of jumbo security budgets and the gargantuan money being spent and contracts being given to militants, that the problems of oil theft and pipeline vandalism are about to cripple Nigeria financially.

What is the legacy of President Jonathan?

Many people lampooned Pastor Tunde Bakare the other time he said Jonathan will bankrupt Nigeria.

I do hope that Bakare will be proved wrong.

But do the facts on ground support my forlorn hope?

I laugh in otuoke

This is the effect of the Tompolo pipeline security contract ....opening the gateway to unprecedented pipeline vandalization and oil theft..

The. SS $ SE still want to continue in this way...God forbid!

lepashandi: Another Amaechi

What you have written is not relevant to this thread.

Did you miss your way?

Pukkah:

When asked on CNN about what he was doing about the problem of crude oil theft, Mr Jonathan [b]surprisingly [/b]blamed the oil theft issue on other countries!

no suprise there - gej will always blame others for his failings - the 40 noisemakers will soon pin oil theft on APC

These revelations should not come as a surprise to anyone. Goodluck Jonathan is a committed criminal and a resolute fraudster; he encourages corruption and facilitates the embezzlement of Nigeria's public funds.

His primary objective as President is to enrich himself and ensure that Shepopotamus's waistline continues to enlarge at a geometric rate.

Nigeria deserves a better President- let us kick this incompetent criminal out of office in 2015.

@ OP:

Much as I want to believe the oil theft angle as one of the major causes; however, in this particular case the cause was clearly identified (in the first paragraph of the article) as due to several withdrawals from the account; meaning therefore that govt was spending far more than what it was earning.

However, I do see Oga johnny laughing himself to the bank: on the one hand, recklessly spending and looting from the ECA account; and on the other hand, he and his ND cabal siphoning much more downstream from the oil pipelines, slapping themselves on the back and saying well done - either way Nigeria is doomed, the man's corruption is just too crude and without shame.SMH

Nigerians do not seem to b=get excited about massive on-going looting, but mention Abacha's name and the false allegation against him of having lloted, then even though in 15 years of pretending to chase the non-eistent loot less the $1bn found

Nigeria's redemption will only come when any of the following occurs:

1. Oil runs out.

2. Oil loses its strategic value.

Because we have failed to stimulate domestic enterprise, and have continually focused on drilling oil rather than the skills and capabilities of our people, any loss of oil revenue will cripple the government of the day and lead to a balance of payments crisis.

You just wait till the exchange rate hits N250 to the dollar.

It WILL get worse.

Is it your oil? Jobless parasites should go and make yourselves useful. It is even a priviledge that the oil revenue is still been shared.