Economy
Senate Stops Probe of $122.2m Excess Crude Account Fraud
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Senate has moved to stop an attempt by some of its members to influence the setting up of an ad-hoc committee to investigate the $122.2 million that had accrued from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) between May 2015 and August 2017, but not paid into the account.
This is just as the upper legislative chamber approved immediate abolition of ECA, an account being used to save oil revenues above a base amount derived from a defined benchmark price.
According to the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly, the account is alien to the 1999 constitution as amended or any known law in the country.
The Senate resolution followed the adoption of a motion, ‘The Excess Crude Account: an Illegality and a Drain Pipe’, by Senator Rose Oko and co-sponsored by 43 other senators cutting across party and ethnic differences.
One of the prayers on the motion was that the senate should “mandate an ad-hoc committee to investigate the revenue that accrued from the amount above the oil benchmark from 2004 to date and its utilization, identifying any infractions committed and report back within two months.”
Surprisingly, majority of the senators, including former Governors who were parts of management of the account in their various states when it was introduced shouted ‘nayes’ while the Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki, also a former Governor quickly ruled in favour of opposition to the probe.
The upper legislative chamber, however, urged the government to pay the amount above the oil benchmark into the Federation Account and appropriate some into the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and other sectors in compliance with the constitution.
Senator Oko, while leading debate on the motion, said the Senate had observed that between May, 2015 and August, 2017, about $122.2 million had accrued and ought to have been paid to the ECA.
She enjoined the upper house to place the $122.2 million in the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) upon the amendment of section 162 of the Constitution and other sectors as deemed appropriate.
The lawmaker particularly advised the government to act in conformity with sections 80 (1-4) and 162 (1-3) of the 1999 Constitution as amended in its revenue receipt and expenditure, saying that the present administration had in May 2017, announced a resumption of arbitrary payment into the ECA of $87 million ostensibly since May, 2015.
According to her, the Senate was “deeply saddened by the continued impunity of the ECA and its discretionary operation in contravention of the 1999 Constitution, creating room for imprudence, recklessness and arbitrariness.”
She added that the upper legislative chamber was “very concerned that this is one veritable source of huge revenue leakage in the country.”
The lawmaker informed that ECA was set up in 2004, ostensibly to provide savings for the country and stabilization for the economy during periods of shortfalls in oil revenue, adding that the accruals to the account were expected to be the amount above the benchmark of crude oil sales.
Senator Oko said the Upper House was “further alarmed that a report by the National Resource Governance Institute rates Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account as one of the most poorly managed around the world, where its operation is discretionary and at the whims of the Executive.”
She noted for instance that the ECA increased from $5.16 billion in 2005 to over $20 billion in 2008, and decreased to less than $4 billion by 2010 with no known tracking of its operations.
The lawmaker alleged that “at various times and from several quarters in 2013, it was purported that $5 billion was missing from the ECA, and that $2 billion was withdrawn without authorization.”
According to her, Nigeria cannot continue to operate an appreciable quantum of revenue arbitrarily, outside the law with no checks and balances while expecting amendment of section 162 of the constitution to cure the problem of savings for the nation.
In his contributions, Senator Adamu Aliero supported the abolition of the ECA which he recalled was introduced during former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration to protect planned budgets against shortfalls due to volatile crude oil prices.
He said if the account, out of which the independent power project, IPP among others were sponsored, is stopped, it would ensure transparency and accountability in revenue generation and payment into the Federation Account.
Senator Mao Ohuabunwa also argued that the ECA should be abolished despite the fact that the country needs to save for the rainy day due to the alleged impunity and arbitrariness in the account’s operation.
He called for the setting up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the revenue that accrued from the country’s oil benchmark from 2004.
Speaking in the same vein, Senator Atai Ali Aidoko described the present operations of ECA as the “biggest flush fund” in the country, saying one-third of the spending were done with illegality.
But Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi advised that National Assembly should look into how to regulate the ECA for surplus funding rather than its complete abrogation.
According to him, the exigency of the time called for the introduction of the account, but agreed that the way it was poorly managed should be urgently addressed.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has unveiled a unified Taxpayer Identification (Tax ID) system for all taxable persons across the country as part of efforts to strengthen tax administration and improve transparency.
The agency announced the development in a public notice issued jointly with the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) on Monday.
According to the notice, the initiative is backed by Sections 6, 7, and 8 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, which mandate every taxable person in Nigeria to obtain a Tax ID, in a wider move to expand the country’s tax base.
The NRS said the new framework is designed to create a centralised and harmonised taxpayer database that would enhance interactions between taxpayers and revenue authorities at both federal and sub-national levels.
“The Tax ID will serve as a single, unified identity for all taxpayers, enabling seamless interaction with tax authorities at both federal and sub-national levels. It is designed to consolidate taxpayer records, eliminate duplication, and ensure more efficient management of tax-related information,” the agency stated.
The revenue agency explained that the new system would simplify tax compliance procedures, including taxpayer registration, filing of returns, and payment processes.
According to the NRS, the framework is also expected to improve accountability and reduce leakages in tax collection by creating better visibility and tracking of taxpayer information nationwide.
“The initiative will simplify tax compliance processes, including registration, tax filing, and payment procedures. The system will improve transparency by enabling better visibility and tracking of taxpayer records while reducing leakages and improving accountability in tax collection. The framework will also harmonise taxpayer information across all levels of government,” the notice added.
The agency further disclosed that the new Tax ID system would replace the existing Tax Identification Number (TIN) Validation API currently used by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), financial institutions, and other organisations for taxpayer verification.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three bellwether stocks weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.31 per cent on Monday, May 18.
This brought the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 54.71 points to 4,133.70 points from 4,188.41 points, and shrank the market capitalisation by N32.73 billion to N2.473 trillion from N2.506 trillion.
Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc contracted by N12.45 to sell at N146.55 per share compared with last Friday’s closing price of N159.00 per share, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc declined by N2.34 to N70.00 per unit from N72.34 per unit, and NASD Plc lost 50 Kobo to trade at N34.50 per share versus N35.00 per share.
The trio overpowered the N5.56 gained Newrest Asl Plc. This stock ended the trading session at N61.15 per unit, in contrast to the previous session’s N55.59 per unit.
During the trading day, the volume of securities traded by investors slid by 56.1 per cent to 514,142 units from 1.2 million units, and the value of securities dropped 29.8 per cent to close at N17.4 million versus N29.8 million, while the number of deals jumped 12.5 per cent to 27 deals from 24 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a horrible day for the Nigerian Naira in the different segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, May 15, as its value further weakened against the United States Dollar.
In the black market window, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar yesterday to sell for N1,390/$1 compared with the previous value of N1,385/$1, but at the GTBank forex counter, it remained unchanged at N1,383/$1.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), the Nigerian currency depreciated against the greenback by N2.66 or 0.19 per cent to sell for N1,373.70/$1 compared to last Friday’s rate of N1,371.04/$1.
Equally, it fell against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment by N9.05 to trade at N1,839.66/£1 versus N1,830.61/£1, and lost N5.42 on the Euro to close at N1,600.49/€1 versus N1,595.07/€1.
The performance of the local currency during the session indicates early worries despite all signals pointing to stability, amid improved Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with steady, higher oil receipts to bolster the nation’s reserves.
Activity at the market showed that turnover rose 57.3 per cent to $76.29 million on Monday from $48.49 million posted on Friday.
Over the weekend, S&P raised Nigeria’s credit ratings for the first time since 2012 and highlighted improved FX market liquidity and $10 billion turnover recorded in April 2026 as one of the major gains of the CBN-led FX reforms.
The agency said the liberalisation of the exchange rate has bolstered access to foreign currency and enabled a market-driven exchange-rate environment while supporting investor and consumer confidence.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Monday as investors monitored developments in the Iran conflict and weighed the impact of surging oil prices on inflation and US interest-rate expectations.
Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.7 per cent to trade at $2,134.10, Cardano (ADA) rose by 0.6 per cent to $0.2515, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.3 per cent to $85.11, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.2 per cent to $643.29, TRON (TRX) increased by 0.03 per cent to $0.3565, and Bitcoin (BTC) advanced by 0.02 per cent to $76,912.12.
On the flip side, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 1.5 per cent to $0.1044, and Ripple (XRP) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $1.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
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