By Oke Peter
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been advised to reconsider his recent Executive Order directing the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to remit all revenues into the Federation Account.
Professor of Petroleum Economics and Policy Research, Wumi Iledare, made this call while featuring on Arise News on Wednesday evening. According to Iledare, the Executive Order will do more harm than good to the stability and sustainability of the oil and gas sector, even though it may increase revenue available to the federal, state, and local governments.
He further stated that the Executive Order contradicts the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which was enacted by the National Assembly.
Professor Wumi Iledare
Recall that President Bola Tinubu recently signed an Executive Order directing major reforms in how oil and gas revenues are collected and remitted into the Federation Account. The order is aimed at plugging revenue leakages, increasing transparency, and ensuring that all revenues due to the Federation are paid directly into the Federation Account, rather than being retained or deducted by certain agencies and companies.
All oil and gas revenues including royalty oil, tax oil, profit oil, profit gas, and other government entitlements, must now be paid directly into the Federation Account.
Iledare, however, stressed that the government should look beyond the figures of generated revenue and focus on the sustainability of the oil and gas sector. He warned that while there may be more money in government coffers to share, the policy could discourage potential investors.
