“No Be the Same Oil We Dey Sell?” Nigerians Ask as Saudi Arabia Adds $80BN Oil Money to Its Wealth Fund

• The Saudi Arabian oil company, Aramco, has announced plans to add $80 billion of its oil revenue to its wealth fund
• While Nigeria, which is also an oil-producing country, is struggling to save, and its excess crude account depletes in thousands
• Nigerians are asking why there is a difference in the fortune of the two oil giants, despite operating in the same market

While the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) struggles to remit money to the federation accounts, Saudi Arabia’s Aramco has added $80 billion worth of shares into the country's sovereign wealth fund.

A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), also known as a social wealth fund, is the surplus money that a country accrues over time.

According to a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency, the shares were transferred to Sanabil Investments, a firm controlled by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

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PIF is one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, with over $620 billion in assets.

The statement also mentioned that the funds will be utilised to achieve Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's goal of using the Gulf kingdom's abundant energy resources to open up the economy under his "Vision 2030" domestic reform agenda.

Prince Bin Salman also expressed his ambition to increase the wealth fund's assets to $1 trillion by the end of 2025.

Nigeria's sovereign wealth fund

The latest development is a sharp contrast to what Nigeria, one of the biggest oil producers in the world, is facing.

Nigeria also has a sovereign wealth fund managed by Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

The latest financial results show that the net assets of NSIA grew by 10.5% to N1.02 trillion in 2022, which is approximately $2.20 billion, a significant increase compared to the Saudi Arabian wealth fund.

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Excess crude account

Also, Nigeria has an Excess Crude Account (ECA) account established in 2004 as a natural resource development fund to serve as a buffer during crises, which is almost empty.

When it was established, ECA grew from $5.1 billion in 2005 to over $20 billion by 2008, accounting for more than one-third of Nigeria’s external reserves.

The balance in Nigeria’s excess crude account (ECA), as of January 17, 2023, stood at $473,754.57.

Nigerians react:

Speaking on the latest announcement by Saudi Arabia, Kalu Aja, a financial expert, said on his Twitter:

"No be the same oil we dey sell?

@zoezephyria added:

"When the foundation of systems are solid and built on progressive thoughts and solid brains are put to steer the cause. Simple transparency and accountability plus positive government policies."

@ChiefBadmusalex wrote:

"Our own is Oyel..."

Nigeria loses 80% of oil production to theft - Pastor Adeboye

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Meanwhile, in another report, Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) recently claimed that 80% of the country’s oil production is lost to theft.

The revered cleric added that 90% of oil revenue is used to service debt in Nigeria.

His words:

“More than 80 per cent of all the oil we are producing is been stolen and nobody has denied it, it came from the government."

Source: Legit.ng