GenBuhari:
You think we have got 10 years?

It might not take that long....before we see the benefits of a non-dutch diseased economy.

Unibenstudent:
what u studying?

applied geophysics

When the price was high and they were looting they did not tell us, Now they are telling us.

Whilst I understand the reason behind your statement and in some way I feel the same, I am really scared of this prayer coming to pass cus the effects will be felt.more by the ordinary nigerians on the street.

The politicians have stolen billions already and will continue which means less money for the citizens. All their children study abroad, they travel abroad for health issues etc. It's the man on the street who will suffer and that hurts

PassingShot:
I personally pray that the oil price even drops to around $50 pb. Perhaps it will make us have a rethink and do the right things.

At present, our polithievesians steal our money like there is no tomorrow.

hercules07:


It is not a conspiracy, that is the actual fact, I do not think the Saudis are doing it willingly, the US is behind it and the intention is to cripple Russia's economy and probably cause Social unrest in Russia.

i don't understand, isn't Russia dependent on gas exportation than crude oil exports..also 70% of Europe depend on Russia for gas, so if Russia economy fails it will affect the whole of Europe. I don't think they will want to cripple Russian economy becos the amount of people that will leave Russia to other parts of Europe will sky rocket and Eu is not equip to handle such migration. Right now a lot east Europeans, i.e Albanians, turkey,e.t.c they go to Russia for work, if that option is removed the migration will double together with Russia migrants.

Gloria3389:

the price can only fall but the oil cannot finish... in fact there are sooo many places in this country Where the oil there has not been extracted at all ....even in the Niger Delta, the oil is still there and can't dry up many years to come except God get angry and dry it up himself.... it's my area of study

but whats the use if the oil is worthless,

A

The only solution the so called finance minister can think of is to reduce the work force of nigeria under the guise of overlapping agencies! But when oil price jumps back they remain unemployed while looting will be maximised by politicians who are already feeding fat while workers can hardly survive

Kingspin:
ABUJA: The Federal Government, yesterday, raised an alarm over the decline in the global crude oil prices, saying that it is already putting in place stricter measures to cushion the effect of the drop on the Nigerian economy.
*Oil Vandals
“Nigeria has two to three months of rainy day savings to cushion it while contingencies are put in place should world oil prices continue to fall,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Co-ordinating Minister for Economy told theFinancial Times.
Okonjo-Iweala disclosed that should oil price dip below $78, the country would have to draw down on the Excess Crude Account (ECA).
She said, “Our intention is not to run in there and raid it, but even if prices continue to go down we can survive sufficiently for two to three months. That is the time needed to get other measures in place. What you don’t want is a hard landing.”
“Our buffers are slimmer this time,” Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged, adding that there is about $4bn in the ECA at present, $2bn short of what the International Monetary Fund had recommended.
She further stated that the country needs to ramp up our non oil revenues on the fiscal side, adding that global consulting firm, McKinsey, has been engaged to carry out an extensive review of revenue services in order to identify potential gains.
Okonjo-Iweala added that she was encouraged by an exhaustive data review, which saw Nigeria’s economy overtake South Africa’s as the continent’s largest, showing that the economy had diversified to a much greater extent than previously thought.
She said, “In an oil country you can never feel at ease exactly. But I feel we can master this situation because we have a diverse base.
“We will have to look very hard at recurrent expenditure, and identify overlapping agencies. When the price is heading down everyone sees the necessity but that doesn’t stop them hating you.
Okonjo-Iweala agreed, however, that lower oil prices would provide a stronger incentive to government to rein in oil theft, which has cost billions of dollars a year, and help to drive through stalled oil sector legislation to stimulate production.
“That would enable us to pick up quantity to help us cushion on the price side,” she said.
The Federal Government, which depends on oil typically for about 80 per cent of revenues, is assuming an oil price of $78 per barrel for its 2015 budget, up from $77.5 per barrel in 2013 and precariously close to recent world prices.
Nigeria was in a much stronger position last time the world price of oil tumbled, with about $22bn squirrelled away in the ECA. Those funds helped the country weather the 2008 global financial crisis with economic output relatively unscathed.
But during recent boom years the government has persistently used the ECA, dividing out the proceeds among the 36 states in the federation, which are constitutionally entitled to their share.
Nigeria also holds foreign reserves equivalent to $39″billion. These have come under recent pressure as the central bank has stepped in to prop up the naira, but still cover nine months worth of imports.
Nigeria’s ratio of non-oil tax revenues to GDP, at 4.5 per cent, is among the lowest on the continent. McKinsey helped South Africa broaden its tax base to the tune of about $3bn and Okonjo-Iweala believed similar gains were possible over the longer term in Nigeria.
www.vanguardngr.com

Oh God why should the price of our unity falling please God have mercy and bring back golf days of oil boom so that our politicians will continuously looting for unity to remain.

why cant nigeria copy from Mexico which export only refined products to north,central and south America. And to other parts of the world. Nigeria has lots of market. west african,central,east, north etc. job opportunities etc.

Bought a car at Cotonou Benin Already
visit www.cotonoucars.net now and apply for your car to be delivered to you in Nigeria with Accident immunity Cover for just a token.

Those times the oil price was stable , and the government was making serious money trading crude, how was the proceeds from the sales of crude oil utilized? There's a decay in infrastructure...perennial dearth in the power sector, now they are groaning...the common man didn't really benefit from the oil boom. These mongrels in power have a lot to answer!

OBJ left $22bn, GEJ and governors depleted it to just $4bn. GEJ and governors have nothing to show for this money!

Permit me to say GEJ, Ngozi and Deiziani are just about the revenue from crude oil sales and nothing more..

I pray the crude oil drys up and Nigerians wake up..

Its easy to steal crude money, isn't it..

No wonder govt steals crude oil money,
Vandals vandalise pipelines to steal their own.
The oil cartel are there, only God knows the amout of crude oil nigerian government can't account for everyday.

The whole country is just upside-down.

Yet this is fresh air.

Ngozi would just speak big economic jargons to confuse us..
We are not confused ma..

One day, monkey go go market hin no go return.

One day go be one day sha..

ikp4succes:

but whats the use if the oil is worthless,

that, I don't know...my previous answer was meant for the person who thought the oil can finish.....

Okonjo iweala why are u always reffering to IMF and looking up to them for answers...is it now you thieves know that oil prices and demand for our oil will drop?

These politicians are just deceiving us,they don't care about Nigeria,as we speak Okonjo iweala and her crew are still embezzling and misapriopriating-Nigerians must wake up and support good leaders,we must chase out these scroundrels,otherwise these people will steal us dry.

We have been shouting about cutting costs and cutting reccurrent expenditure,yet these people are still appriopriating hundrds of billions for prsidency feeding and giving 250billion to a useless house of reps,who are enriching themselves.

Its high time we diversified our nation's economy.

Yara Dua left $22Bn not Thief Obasanjo

adconline:
OBJ left $22bn, GEJ and governors depleted it to just $4bn. GEJ and governors have nothing to show for this money!

Over reliance on oil is bad...Y can't we learn from china,india,japan even South africa how they v been making it big without having oil,but thru a diversified economy!

lucianohase:
Over reliance on oil is bad...Y can't we learn from china,india,japan even South africa how they v been making it big without having oil,but thru a diversified economy!

If she says Oil revenue makes about 4% of GDP, doesn't that mean the economy is diversified? But in another hand it makes 80% of Government budget, That happens when you have fake economy, in the name of being No.1 in africa is costing Nigeria. They cooked the numbers in the first place, now things are not adding up. If the oil price drops to $50, thats the end of Nigeria.

lucianohase:
Over reliance on oil is bad...Y can't we learn from china,india,japan even South africa how they v been making it big without having oil,but thru a diversified economy!

Don't forget your big brother next door: Ghana.

GenBuhari:
Yara Dua left $22Bn not Thief Obasanjo

That's not true. OBJ left $22bn in ECA for Yar'dua and GEJ

when the oil price rises(more money to embezzle) its no news, when it drops, it is news..

FG should just look into other sector for revenue generation, our Government should seize this opportunity to promote other sector and diversify instead of the plan to spend the money in the Excess Crude Account(ECA)

Okonjo wake up and stop creating avenues for embezzlement.

“We will have to look very hard at recurrent expenditure, and identify overlapping agencies. When the price is heading down everyone sees the necessity but that doesn’t stop them hating you.

you are just now looking at other options? wao! see incompetence.

Tell me how could a thief ever leave $22Bn it is just not believable.

Can you provide your source?

adconline:

That's not true. OBJ left $22bn in ECA for Yar'dua and GEJ

GenBuhari:
Tell me how could a thief ever leave $22Bn it is just not believable.

Can you provide your source?

You're just a pest, aren't you?

GenBuhari:
Tell me how could a thief ever leave $22Bn it is just not believable.

Can you provide your source?

Since you are insistent, this link might be of help to you. Let us stop twisting facts and give out the right information. Obasanjo's regime instituted the Excess Crude Account (ECA) in 2004 and saved a whooping US$20 Billion jointly squandered by Presidents Yaradua and Jonathan within 5 years!

http://www.channelstv.com/2012/04/13/fg-blame-governors-for-depletion-of-excess-crude-account/

The Wealth and Poverty of a Nation: Who will restore the dignity of Nigeria?” delivered at the 42nd Convocation Ceremony of her alma mater, the University of Nigeria, Nsuka (UNN); allegedly accused the Yar Adua Administration and the Jonathan Administration of squandering the $67billion in Reserves left by the Obasanjo Administration in May 2007. We perused her keynote address, and here is what she actually said in respect of this issue: “…Furthermore, it is happening back to back with the squandering of the significant sum of $45 Billion in foreign reserve account and another $22Billion in the Excess Crude Account being direct savings from increased earnings from oil that the Obasanjo administration handed over to the successor government in 2007. Six years after the administration I served handed over such humongous national wealth to another one; most Nigerians but especially the poor continue to suffer the effects of failing public health and education systems as well as decrepit infrastructure and battered institutions.

GenBuhari, the above quote might also be of help. It is an excerpt from Oby-Ezekwesili's speech.

http://standardtimespress.org/?p=3362

Isn't it obvious that the Nigerian economy has been grossly mismanaged over the past 7 years? How can over US$20 Billion dollars just vanish without commensurate development on ground. The Excess Crude Account was established to keep the income accruing from improved oil prices in the international market. As at this morning, there is no more excess income on oil. Let's see how the Nigerian economy will fare; things are about to start happening.

stalyf:
The government should see the falling oil prices as an opportunity to diversify the economy. Agriculture is one major area we can use for that.
For how long are we going to depend on oil?

Also, we need to develop our solid minerals sector and promote our local industries.

SkySpirit:


Also, we need to develop our solid minerals sector and promote our local industries.

I agree with you.

Okonjo Iweala is a paper tiger. She has no slightest idea of what she is doing.

She worked in a system designed as plug and play. Challenged with moulding an economy unsupervised by the Western masters, she continues to look like a deer caught in a headlight.

I bet you that a serious-minded economist from University of Ibadan or UNN could do better.

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