Navy to acquire $35m offshore patrol vessels
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
A sum of $35 million was taken from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) in June for advance payment for new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) for the Navy, to improve surveillance of crime in Nigerian waters, including oil theft, Abuja has disclosed.
The government was responding to reports that the ECA has dropped from $35.7 million to a mere $376,655.
The ECA is a savings account maintained by the federal government, funded by the difference between the market price of crude oil and the benchmark price in the Appropriation Act.
Nigeria has not funded the ECA for four years, even with higher oil revenues.
“The $35m disbursement from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) is from June 2022, and is an advance payment for the purchase of brand new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) for the Nigerian Navy,” the government explained on its Twitter handle (@NigeriaGov).
“Earlier this year, Nigeria exited the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy List. Most recently, the IMB noted that there were zero actual/attempted piracy and ship-armed-robbery incidents in Nigerian waters in the first half of 2022,” the government added.
“The $35m disbursement from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) is from June 2022, & is an advance payment for the purchase of brand new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) for the #NigerianNavy, as part of efforts to consolidate on maritime security gains recorded in the Gulf of Guinea. 1/ https://t.co/bEJxhJxHV3.”
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No accruals to ECA
Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed also explained why the ECA is not being funded.
“On the issue of the Excess Crude Account, in the past four years, because of volatility in the oil market, we have not had accrual to the Excess Crude Account,” she said, according to reporting by Nairametrics.
“So, what we have had, has been gradually used up for different purposes and it is always used in consultation with the National Economic Council, that is the Governors, because this is a Federation Account.
“The last approval that was given by the council was the withdrawal of $1 billion to enhance security. We have been utilising that.
“The last trench of that has been finally released because deployments to security agencies are based on the contracts executed and its been used strictly for that security purpose.”
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