After Years of Depletion, Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account Balance Drops From $172 Million To $473,754

 

The balance of Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account (ECA) stands at $473,754.57 as of April 2025, according to Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, the accountant-general of the federation (AcGF). Ogunjimi made the disclosure during the 149th National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, which took place on Thursday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja under the chairmanship of Vice-President Kashim Shettima.

Designed as a financial buffer against the unpredictable tides of global oil prices, the ECA was conceived in 2004 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Its purpose was straightforward but crucial: to save revenues earned from crude oil sales above the government’s budgeted benchmark, thereby insulating Africa’s largest economy from the shocks of volatile commodity markets. However, more than two decades later, the balance paints a stark picture of the account's decline.

Ogunjimi’s report to the NEC also included updates on two other critical national savings accounts. The stabilisation account, intended to support the federation against unforeseen economic challenges, holds N63.53 billion. Meanwhile, the natural resources development account, which is meant to fund investments in Nigeria’s non-oil sectors, currently contains N72,858,962,913.29 as of April 2025.

The ECA, once seen as a symbol of Nigeria’s ambition to manage its oil wealth prudently, has suffered steady depletion over the years. Its balance today is a dramatic fall from previous figures. In February 2021, Zainab Ahmed, the then-minister of finance, budget, and national planning, announced that the ECA stood at $72.4 million. By March 2023, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) confirmed a sharp drop, reporting that the balance had shrunk to $473,754.57—the same figure now cited by Ogunjimi, suggesting little to no activity in the account since then.

The silence around the use of the ECA funds in recent years has raised questions among economic analysts and policy observers. Transparency concerns persist, with many noting that disbursements from the ECA are often made without clear public disclosure or parliamentary oversight. The dwindling balance, juxtaposed against the backdrop of oil windfalls when crude prices surged globally, has amplified criticisms of fiscal mismanagement.

Economic experts argue that the present state of the ECA is symptomatic of a broader fiscal fragility. Despite oil prices trading above budgeted benchmarks for extended periods, Nigeria has struggled with revenue shortfalls, mounting debt obligations, and heavy expenditure burdens. Rather than bolstering the ECA, many of the excess revenues have been absorbed into recurrent spending or emergency interventions.

Conversations at Thursday’s NEC meeting reportedly also touched on the need to reexamine Nigeria’s fiscal discipline frameworks. Several state governors expressed concerns about the sustainability of the country’s financial reserves, especially as Nigeria braces for potential economic shocks amid global uncertainties, including fluctuating energy prices, supply chain disruptions, and inflationary pressures.

Observers note that the ECA’s original intention has been severely undermined by political pressures and the government’s frequent recourse to the account to cover budget deficits or fund special projects. Over the years, withdrawals have funded anything from security interventions to bailouts for states struggling with salary arrears.

In a country where oil accounts for over 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings and a significant portion of government revenues, the failure to maintain a robust ECA reserve is increasingly seen as a major policy failure. Calls for reform have grown louder, with experts urging greater transparency, stricter withdrawal rules, and a renewed commitment to savings during boom periods.

The situation is even more striking when compared to other oil-producing nations that have managed their sovereign wealth more prudently. Countries like Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have established large, professionally managed sovereign wealth funds that serve as economic stabilisers and intergenerational savings vehicles.

Vice-President Shettima, presiding over the NEC meeting, reportedly reiterated the federal government’s commitment to improving revenue generation and fiscal management practices. However, no immediate policy shift or rescue plan for the ECA was announced during the meeting.

As the nation moves deeper into 2025, stakeholders are closely watching whether renewed efforts at economic reform will translate into tangible action to rebuild Nigeria’s fiscal buffers—or whether the ECA will continue to fade into irrelevance, a casualty of years of missed opportunities and fiscal indiscipline.

Without significant structural reforms, many fear that Nigeria’s ability to withstand future oil price collapses or economic downturns will be gravely compromised, leaving the country more vulnerable than ever before.