Energy expert and Chair of the Oil, Gas, and Energy Policy Forum, Prof. Emeritus Wunmi Iledare, has urged President Bola Tinubu to engage federal lawmakers and key stakeholders regarding the recent executive order on oil and gas revenue remittances to the Federation Account.
In a statement released yesterday, the Executive Director of the Emmanuel Egbogah Foundation (EEF) said that after reviewing the order, it represents a significant fiscal intervention within Nigeria’s petroleum governance framework.
Prof. Iledare noted that the order reflects a renewed effort to strengthen revenue transparency, reduce discretionary retention, and improve statutory remittances to the three tiers of government.
He recommended prompt legislative consultation to ensure statutory coherence, transparent stakeholder engagement with operators and investors, clear implementation guidelines to safeguard contractual obligations, and a sequenced reform approach that balances fiscal urgency with institutional stability.
Acknowledging the administration’s objectives to protect public revenues, reduce inefficiencies, and enhance fiscal discipline amid budgetary pressures and debt concerns, he emphasized that strengthening remittance accountability and improving visibility of petroleum inflows remain key public finance priorities.
However, he pointed out that parts of the executive order intersect with provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, particularly statutory constructs like the Frontier Exploration Fund (FEF), the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), and Production Sharing Contract (PSC) fiscal structures established by the National Assembly.
While the President has constitutional authority to implement and enforce laws, Iledare stressed that substantial changes to statutory fiscal frameworks may require legislative amendments to ensure legal alignment and institutional certainty. He highlighted the importance of distinguishing between contractual revenue allocations under PSC agreements, corporate retained earnings of NNPC Limited, and statutory earmarked funds under the PIA, to avoid conflating contractual entitlements with discretionary fiscal practices.
On direct remittance of royalty, tax, and profit oil to the Federation Account, he acknowledged its potential to enhance transparency but stressed that careful sequencing is required to maintain contractual stability and investor confidence.
He also observed that NNPC Limited’s dual role as a commercial operator and concessionaire has long created institutional tensions, noting that any reforms to reinforce NNPC’s commercial identity must be anchored in legal clarity and predictable governance mechanisms.
“Nigeria’s petroleum sector is central to national economic stability. Reforms that improve transparency and fiscal integrity are welcome, but they must align with constitutional processes, statutory frameworks, and investor predictability,” Iledare concluded.
