Sovereign Wealth Fund Will Drop to $201m After $150m Withdrawal

The plan by the Federal Government to withdraw $150m from the stabilisation fund of the Sovereign Wealth Fund would reduce the amount in the account to $201m.

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority said this in a statement issued on Thursday and made available to journalists.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, on Monday, hinted that the Federal Government would withdraw the amount to cushion the negative impact of oil price decline on the federation account.

She had said the withdrawal was due to the persistent decline in allocations to the three tiers of government.

The NSIA in the statement expressed support for the decision of the government, adding that the move was in line with the objectives of establishing the fund.

Specifically, it stated that Sections 47 and 48 of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority’s Establishment Act 2011 supported the withdrawal from the stabilisation fund.

In terms of the process for the withdrawal of the funds, the statement said Section 47 empowered the minister of finance to call for the withdrawal of the funds managed by the NSIA.

It said, “The funds drawn will be used to augment the government’s Federation Accounts and Allocation Committee’s disbursements by June 2020 for allocation.

“The withdrawal reduces the value of funds under management in the stabilisation fund to $201m from $351m as of December 31, 2019.

“The $351m is comprised of core contributions of $300m; and $51m of returns earned.”

The statement said while the Stabilisation Fund allocation is 20 per cent of the NSIA overall funds under management, that of the Future Generations Fund and the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund account for the balance of 80 per cent.