By Joel Miller
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Executive Order No. 9 of 2026 on oil and gas revenue remittances is projected to unlock about ₦14.57 trillion in additional allocations to the federal, state and local governments if fully implemented.
The Order, signed on February 13, directs that royalty oil, tax oil, profit oil, profit gas and other revenues due to the Federation under production sharing, profit sharing and risk service contracts be paid directly into the Federation Account.
It suspends certain provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that previously allowed layered deductions and retention mechanisms before remittance.
Based on 2025 revenue projections submitted to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), about ₦906.91 billion was expected to be retained as management fees and frontier exploration funds, while oil and gas royalties amounting to ₦7.55 trillion and gas flaring penalties of ₦611.42 billion were subject to complex remittance structures.
Centralising these inflows is expected to enhance transparency and improve revenue availability.
Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Bello Shehu, described the directive as a constitutionally grounded reform aimed at eliminating revenue leakages and strengthening the fiscal base of the three tiers of government.
He said the Order reinforces the constitutional framework for revenue remittance and ensures greater accountability.
The reform also recalibrates the fiscal relationship between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the Federation.
Under the PIA framework, the national oil company retained portions of upstream revenues before remitting balances, while dividend payments estimated at ₦3.25 trillion for 2025 were not reflected in FAAC records.
Industry stakeholders, including the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, have welcomed the Order, describing it as a reform-driven measure that could strengthen macroeconomic stability, improve investor confidence and ease fiscal pressures amid rising debt service obligations and funding gaps in critical sectors.
