Nigeria Content Online

Frantic efforts are
being made by the Ministry of Finance to resolve the issues that
resulted in a stalemate at the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee
meeting held last Friday.

The meeting ended
abruptly following disagreements by members over the recommendation of
its technical subcommittee on distributable revenue for the month.

Authoritative
Presidency sources said, in Abuja, that the Minister of Finance, Segun
Aganga, and Minister of State Finance, Remi Babalola, as well as the
Accountant General of the Federation, Ibrahim Dankwambo, will be
meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan today in an attempt to gain
clarity on certain issues.

Mr. Babalola, the
committee’s Chairman, had hinted that a meeting of the major
stakeholders will soon be convened to re-examine the facts and data as
well as assumptions and estimates in the 2010 budget so that a way can
be found out of the stalemate.

However, there are
indications that complex political considerations may impinge on
efforts to find a resolution. NEXT investigations indicate that one of
the issues likely to be tabled for discussion with the President is the
need to approve the disbursement of the sum of N736.985billion from the
balance of $4.393billion in the Excess Foreign crude account to augment
the budgeted distributable revenue allocation for the three tiers of
government.

Though total
distributable revenue for the first quarter of the year, according to
available figures from the Office of the Accountant General of the
Federation, was put at N1,495.021 billion, indications are that only
N431.747billion from the monthly revenue receipts as well as a balance
of N212.559billion in the Domestic Excess Crude Account was available
for distribution.

The President is
required to authorize withdrawal from the Excess Crude Account to
augment the available amount, but Presidency sources said yesterday
“President Goodluck Jonathan might not be very disposed to taking that
action for obvious political reasons.”

According to our
sources, the President will be reluctant to approve the release of so
much money to the state governors with just a few months elections as
he would want to avoid a situation where the funds are diverted into
the re-election campaigns of the state governors.

“Don’t forget, most
of them know they are not in his good books. Apart from mobilizing
against the President’s emergence in the wake of the Yar’Adua’s health
crisis, most of the governors were also not on the same page with him
on the issues of ministerial appointments; the trial of the former
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman as well as choice of the Vice
President.

“Insisting that
they be paid all the arrears of the differential between $45 and $67
benchmarks (over N737billion) for the four months is obviously one of
the ways to get whatever they can before the elections,” the Presidency
source said yesterday.

However, one of the
representatives from the South-South states who attended the meeting on
Friday said, “The immediate implication of the refusal of the
government to release ` the arrears for the four months would be that
civil servants would have to go without salaries for some time till
when the payment is made. This is the only way to show government that
the matter is very serious.”

Besides, the other
issue that would have to be thrashed out would be the need to review
the benchmark and other assumptions in the 2010 budget approved by the
National Assembly, which are considered higher than normal.

The National
Assembly had raised the oil benchmark proposed in the 2010 budget from
$59 to the barrels to $67 from last year’s benchmark of $45 to the
barrel.

The implication in
this action is that more money would be accruing in the Excess Crude
Account for distribution to the three tiers of government during the
year.