Governors back sovereign wealth fund

State governors have at last approved federal government’s proposal to launch a National Sovereign Wealth Fund with an initial $1 billion, ending months of political wrangling. Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in October last year the fund was being launched but governors initially blocked the proposal, leading to eight months of negotiations. “The council has agreed with the federal government to go ahead to implement the Nigeria sovereign investment authority with an initial fund of $1 billion,” Rivers State Governor Rotimi Ameachi said, referring to Nigeria’s economic council that includes all Nigeria’s 36 state governors. The sovereign wealth fund was supposed to replace the Excess Crude Account (ECA), where Nigeria saves oil revenues over a benchmark price, currently $72 a barrel. The ECA can be too easily dipped into and there is little transparency over how the money is spent, economist says.