Tinubu’s Oil Revenue Crackdown Yields N322bn, $116.9m in Fresh Remittances
By Wellington Jopelo
The Federal Government has begun seeing major financial gains from President Bola Tinubu’s new oil revenue directive after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission reportedly remitted over N322 billion and $116.9 million into the Federation Account within two months.
The development followed the implementation of Executive Order 9, signed by Tinubu earlier this year to stop revenue leakages and enforce direct remittance of oil and gas earnings to the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
Government officials said the policy was introduced to end what the presidency described as excessive deductions and overlapping charges that had reduced the amount of money reaching federal, state, and local governments.
FAAC documents reportedly showed that NNPC alone remitted more than $29 million and over N42 billion from crude oil and gas proceeds for March 2026 in compliance with the presidential directive.
The order has already changed the financial structure of Nigeria’s oil sector by preventing certain agencies from retaining large portions of petroleum revenues before remittance.
While state governments and finance commissioners have largely welcomed the move, saying it could improve allocations shared among the three tiers of government, concerns remain inside the oil sector over how agencies will fund operations going forward.
Some officials within NNPC and NUPRC reportedly fear the policy could create financial pressure for agencies that previously depended on retained revenues for salaries, regulation, and technical operations.
Industry experts have also raised legal questions over whether an executive order can effectively alter parts of the Petroleum Industry Act without amendments from the National Assembly.
Despite the debate, implementation of the order has already begun, with the Federal Government warning that any violation of the directive would be treated as a breach of constitutional fiscal provisions.
Economic analysts say the latest remittances may temporarily improve government revenue flow at a time Nigeria continues to battle debt pressure, subsidy-related challenges, and rising public spending demands.
As more oil revenues begin moving directly into government accounts, attention is now shifting to whether the policy will truly improve transparency and public finances or trigger a deeper battle within Nigeria’s petroleum sector.