Okonjo-Iweala: Governors now in support of Sovereign Wealth Fund

Nigerian governors have changed their minds and have accepted the sovereign wealth fund initiated by the federal government, Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala disclosed in Port Harcourt yesterday.The minister spoke in the presence of some governors including, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State who is chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum at the Rivers State Investors Forum organized by private entrepreneurs in collaboration with the state government. The event began on Wednesday and is expected to end today, Friday at the Government House, Port Harcourt.'We have launched the Sovereign Wealth Fund and I want to thank His Excellency the governor of Rivers State and the chairman Governors Forum. I can see a lot of eager faces waiting to see whether there will be an explosion from the governor at the mention of the word Sovereign Wealth Fund. But I don't think you are going to get any because we (FG and governors) are all united now in launching this instrument.''And they (governors) have agreed for us to use $ 1 billion which had already been used and we are not going beyond that for the moment. The Sovereign Wealth Fund is not just an instrument for saving for the next generation but it is also an instrument to protect us from price volatility and it helps us to save our economy from crisis', the minister said.She said the Sovereign Common Wealth Fund (SNF) will protect the country against oil price volatility in the face of Europe financial crisis that is affecting the rest of the world and that it will also ensure savings for the future.Okonjo-Iweala also pointed out that there was need for state governments to replicate the transformation agenda of the federal government at the state levels and work together to achieve functionality in the system. She said the federal government is working hard on reforming Nigerian Ports and to ensure a sound capital market that will support the economy.The Minister disclosed that President Goodluck Jonathan in his last meeting with the members of the National Assembly had resolved to improve on intelligence gathering to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency in the country.
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