The National Economic Council (NEC) has raised alarm over the dwindling Excess Crude Account (ECA) caused by drop in global oil prices.
Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Adejoke Adefulure, who spoke to State House correspondents after the monthly NEC meeting in Abuja, presided over by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, said the Minister of State for Finance, Alhaji Bashir Yuguda, briefed the council on the state of the nation’s excess crude account.
According to her, Yuguda, who represented the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, informed the meeting that the excess crude account stood at $4.1 billion.
“The Minister stated that the drop in oil prices is affecting the inflow of money into the excess crude account but the Federal Government is trying hard to stabilize the currency.
“The Accountant General will circulate details of the account to members of the council,” Adefulure said.
Speaking further on the deliberations of the council, she said that the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Joint Tax Board and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation to commence the process of amending the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act with emphasis on the review of the VAT rate.
She also said that the council considered and approved the ‘attaché schedule’ containing the reviewed list of taxes and levies collectable by the three tiers of government for publication by the Joint Tax Board (JTB).
