FG settles for current reserves, direct deduction as sources of fund for NSWF
FRIDAY, 02 JULY 2010 01:16 HORATIUS EGUA   
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The Federal Government may have opted to fund the planned Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund (NSWF) from its current reserve, and by direct deduction from the federation account.
The National Economic Council (NEC), a body of state governors, finance minister, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other top government functionaries, kicked against an earlier proposal by the finance ministry to fund the NSWF from the excess crude account.

Olusegun Aganga, minister of finance, had, in the presentation to the last NEC meeting said: "The NSWF's initial source of funding should predominantly be the excess crude account (ECA)". Aganga told BusinessDay in an interview on Thursday that since the fund would be an institution with the responsibility of serving the interests of the generality of Nigerians, it would be proper to think up credible sources of funding for the fund.
Olusegun Aganga


"We are looking at so many alternative sources of funding for the NSWF. The option of the excess crude account was one of the areas we were looking at, but we are also looking at the nation's current reserves and even direct deduction from the federation account," he said. The minister said NEC was also looking at other sources of funding adding that once the two parties meet, "we will look at the options and settle for the best. The overall interest of establishing the fund is for the betterment of the country".

[size=15pt]"Once the fund takes off, we are going to have representation across the board. We are going to have student representative, representative from the civil society groups, the market women, the organised private sector and, in fact, everybody will be represented," he stated further.

He said the fund would "be governed by a robust corporate governance structure in line with the global best practices," and that it is expected to serve three main purposes: "Savings for future generations, economic development of critical infrastructure, and economic stabilisation".[/size]

The fund, if fully established, according to the minister, "will, among other things, reduce the country's vulnerability to significant external shocks resulting from global oil price fluctuation; ensure intergenerational equity; support domestic efforts by investing in critical infrastructure; serve as a catalyst for attracting additional local and foreign investment, and provide a powerful signalling effect to external investors in terms of enhanced macroeconomic framework, with associated positive impact on Nigeria's sovereign credit rating, and cost of investment capital".

http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12330:fg-settles-for-current-reserves-direct-deduction-as-sources-of-fund-for-nswf&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18

less money flying around at people's signatures for siphoning.