As Excess Crude Account Drops 97% In 3.5 Years
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the sum of N13.3bn for the takeoff of Community Policing in, as part of efforts to improve the security situation in the country.
This was announced on Thursday at the 96th National Economic Council (NEC), with the council’s chairman, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, setting up “a small team comprising of the NGF (Nigerian Governors Forum Chair (Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the Ekiti State Governor), two additional governors, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning (Mrs. Zainab Ahmed) and the Inspector General of Police, …to ensure that the FG funding is well utilized.”
This, according to a summary of the proceedings of the virtual meeting prepared by his media aide, Laolu Akande, followed a presentation by an ad hoc committee headed by Governor Fayemi, on security and policing.
The ad-hoc Committee had in a presentation on its assignment to the Council, had said engagement with key stakeholders on the operationalization of community policing in the country was ongoing.
The council, which comprises governor of the 36 states governors, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), was also told by Mrs. Ahmed, in her report that the balance in Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account (ECA) as of August 18, 2020 stood at $72,408,119.44.
This represents, according to Investdata checks, represents a sharp 97.05% drop from $2,458,382,844.03 in the account three and a half years ago on February 15, 2017.
The meeting also received reports on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the country- one by its ad hoc committee interfacing with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, and the other by Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
According to Akande, “the NCDC report indicates that the positivity rate has fallen from 19.7% in June to 13.7% in August 2020, while number of states with testing laboratories increased from 2 to 32, including the FCT.
“The average tests per day has risen from 500 at the onset of the outbreak to 3,500 today, while the daily laboratory testing capacity increased to 10,000,” he added.
