BREAKING: Bola Ahmed Tinubu Orders Immediate Suspension of Management Fee Deductions.
By Bala Salihu Dawakin Kudu
Democracy Newsline Newspaper
February 27, 2026.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the immediate suspension of management fee deductions and Frontier Exploration Fund contributions previously retained by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited before remitting revenues to the Federation Account.
According to a Thursday report by The Punch, the directive blocks approximately N2.1 trillion deducted between 2022 and 2025. Under the new order, all oil and gas revenues must be paid into the Federation Account in full before any operational costs are applied, reinforcing constitutional fiscal provisions.
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Data presented to the Federation Account Allocation Committee show deductions fluctuated sharply: N20.739bn (2022), N695.9bn (2023), N452.6bn (2024), and N906.91bn (2025), highlighting instability in oil revenue flows amid global price volatility and domestic production challenges.
While the directive strengthens federal revenue transparency, it raises legal and operational questions regarding the Petroleum Industry Act framework. A presidential implementation committee has been established to enforce compliance, with violations deemed breaches of executive authority.
State governments and civil society groups praised the move as a win for accountability. However, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria urged caution, warning that abrupt funding changes could affect production stability and jobs, particularly in deepwater production-sharing contract operations tied to crude-backed loans.
As debates continue, the directive signals a significant shift in Nigeria’s oil revenue governance—placing constitutional remittance rules above automatic sectoral deductions and potentially reshaping fiscal federalism in Africa’s largest oil producer.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, FEBRUARY 27TH 2026)
