FINANCE MINISTRY DEBUNKS CLAIMS THAT PRESIDENT JOHNATHAN SQUANDERED THE NATION'S RESERVE

The Minister of Finance Okonjo  Iweala has released a statement stating that President Johnathan did not squander the nations reserves as  suggested .

In a statement  she released to clarify the facts of the recent history and status of Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account and foreign reserves, the Ministry said “it is important to restate the true position in the interest of the Nigerian public as well as local and international 
“It is absolutely not true that the Administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has squandered the nation’s reserves”, it said, maintaining that “at the end of May 2007, Nigeria’s gross reserves stood at $43.13 billion – comprising the CBN’s external reserves of $31.5 billion, $9.43 billion in the Excess Crude Account, and $2.18 billion in Federal Government’s savings. These figures can be independently verified from the CBN’s records”, insisting that “the figure of $67 billion cited in some recent commentary is therefore factually incorrect”.
The statement further added that “it is a misconception to think that reserves are immutable or cast in stone. The reality is that since May 2007, the reserves have fluctuated in line with developments in the international oil market, rising from $43.13 billion at that time, peaking at $62 billion in September 2008 during the Yar’adua/Jonathan Administration when oil prices reached a peak of $147 per barrel, and falling subsequently to a low of $31.7 billion in September 2011″.

“This fall in reserves was largely a result of the vicissitudes of the global economy and oil market which caused the CBN to intervene, using some of the reserves, to defend the value of the naira.

“The Excess Crude savings, which it should be noted is a component of the reserves, was largely used to cushion the economy at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008-2009. As a result, Nigeria was one of the few countries in the world that did not seek assistance from international financial institutions at that time.

“The fiscal stimulus used to shore up the economy during that period was shared by all 3-tiers of government. Similarly, savings in the ECA were also used to pay for fuel subsidies for the entire nation and that sharing continued after the crisis ended. Starting in 2012, such payments have been published each time they are made”, it said.