ZHUL-QI’DA 25, 1429 A.H.
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2008
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FG, governors resolve crisis over 2009 budget's benchmark
The National Economic Council (NEC), in Abuja agreed on the Federal Government's 45 dollars per barrel benchmark for crude oil in next year's budget estimate.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the governors had earlier rejected the 45 dollars per barrel benchmark at their last month's NEC meeting.
The governors rejected it on the ground that it was too low in view of the price of crude oil, which reached more than 140 dollars per barrel, three months ago.
The current price of crude oil in the International market had crashed to less than 55 dollars per barrel as of the time of filling this report.
The Governor of Kwara State , Dr Bukola Saraki, however, told newsmen shortly after the monthly NEC that the governors were satisfied with the presentations and explanation offered by the President's economic team.
Saraki, who is also the Chairman of the Governors' Forum, said the issue of the legal battle between the Federal Government and some state governments over the sharing of the excess crude revenue would also be settled amicably.
He said the governors were more concerned with the rising cases of unemployment among youths and ways to safeguard the nation's economy from being infected with the global economic recession.
Saraki said the governors were also satisfied with measures so far taken by the Federal Government to address the possible spill-over effects of the global economic meltdown.
The Governor of the Central Bank, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who accompanied Saraki at the briefing, expressed optimism that the Nigeria would survive the ongoing world economic crisis.
He said though Nigeria was not totally insulated from the effects of the meltdowm, the nation had put in place measures to cushion the possible effect of the crisis.
Soludo listed some of the measures to include the recent consolidation in the banking sector, the robust external reserve, the saving of excess crude funds and other under utilised resources like arable land and solid minerals.
``We have competitive banking sector, which is making profit and the most well capitalised banking sector in the world compared to some other economies that their banks are bankrupt and declaring loses. ``We have robust external reserve of about 60 billion dollars currently," he said.
