FG WITHDRAWS $1BN FROM EXCESS CRUDE ACCOUNT

The Federal Government has withdrawn the sum of $1bn (N160bn) from the Excess Crude Account.President Goodluck Jonathan gave the withdrawal approval to augment the shortfall in revenue to the federation account.The Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama, while briefing journalists on Thursday in Abuja on the outcome of this month’s Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting, confirmed the drop in revenue.He said the N443.052bn received in the month of October fell short of the budgetary amount of N465.057bn.The shortfall, it was learnt, led to the withdrawal of the $1bn from the ECA, thus bringing the new balance in the account to $3.59bn.The amount in the account as of the beginning of this year was about $10bn.The country had experienced persistent decline in oil revenue owing to oil theft and pipeline vandalism.The government had said if crude oil theft continued, revenue loss could rise to $12bn.