On Monday, June 10, at the third round of the 2013 ministerial platform in Abuja, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, spoke glowingly about the Nigerian economy, saying the fundamentals were strong and that the economy was buoyant beyond danger. But a few hours later, on Tuesday, when all the doors were closed, the minister sang a different tune. She told her colleagues in government point blank that the Nigerian economy is shaky despite the official fundamentals and that drastic steps are needed to save it from collapse. Mrs Okonjo-Iweala spoke at the 50 th meeting of the 15-member Federal Government Economic Implementation Teamheld behind closed-doors at the presidential villa. The administration has PAID several billions of naira to FORMER Niger Delta MILITANTS to GUARD OIL installations and block oil THEFT. But if anything, the situation has worsened. At the meeting, the minister also predicted a further dip in national revenue following the increase in shale gas production around the world, a situation she said would definitely have serious adverse effect on oil prices and sales. Shale gas, according to Wikipedia, is natural gas found trapped within shale formations and has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States and the rest of the world. Shale gas now provides over 20 percent of U.S. natural gas need and that figure is set torise to 46 percent by 2035, according to the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration . Mrs Okonjo-Iweala hinted that as more and more countries depend on shale gas, the demand for Nigeria’s oil and gas would drop, with a corresponding dramatic drop inrevenue. The minister also lamented that the situationwith the economy was not helped by the lack of accountability at the Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation, NNPC, saying the corporation had refused to render returns for its share of crude oil for local refining. She thereafter informed her colleagues that beginning with the 2014 budget, there would be stringent budgetary measures anda lot of belt tightening within the government, our sources say. She did not provide details of what the drastic measures would be, said one of our sources. Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala has never been this frankin the open about the economy and its gloomy prospects. She has said on several occasions that the economy was buoyant and strong, with its outlook remaining great, despite the current global economic uncertainty. On Monday, she spoke along that line, askingNigerians to ignore critics who have continued to insist that despite government claims, the economy was not in good shape.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:55:06 +0000
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