NIGERIA’s excess crude account (ECA) balance stood at $535,823.39 as of August this year, the Accountant-General of the Federation  Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, has said.

He disclosed this during the 151st National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, chaired by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, on Thursday, August 28, in Abuja.

He said, “Excess Crude Account is $535,823.39; the Stabilisation Account is N78,453,757,583.19; and the Natural Resources Account is N106,727,969,527.59.”

The ECA balance rose slightly by $62,068.82 relative to $473,754.57 as of April this year.

In an earlier report, The ICIR spotlighted that the ECA balance which stood at $473,754 as of January 17, 2023, remained at the same figure as of December 2023.

Ogunjimi, who was represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, at the meeting, gave a further update on vital account balances.

He said the stabilisation account stood at N78,453,757,583.19 and the natural resources account at N106,727,969,527.59.

The ICIR reports that the ECA was established in 2004 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to save excess oil revenues above the budget benchmark.

Its overriding objective is to insulate the country from economic shocks that may arise from volatility in crude oil prices in the international market.

Crude oil price relatively been selling below the $75 per barrel benchmark Nigeria set in its 2025 budget.

It has averaged $64.45 per barrel in May this year.

In February 2021, Nigeria’s ECA balance stood at $72.4 million but dropped to $473,754.57 in March 2023.