Tinubu Blocks ₦2tn NNPCL Fees With New Executive Order, Directs All Oil Cash Straight to Federation Account

President Bola Tinubu has pulled the plug on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) multi-trillion naira “auto-deduction” system. In what is being described as the most aggressive fiscal reform of his presidency, a new Executive Order has effectively blocked the national oil firm from retaining nearly ₦2 trillion in management and exploration fees, money that will now flow directly into the Federation Account.

Executive Order 9 of 2026, which was officially gazetted this week, takes a direct aim at the financial “black box” of the 2021 Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). For years, the NNPCL has used the PIA to legally set aside 30% of profit oil for “management fees” and another 30% for a “Frontier Exploration Fund.” According to recent data, these two deductions alone swallowed over ₦2.07 trillion in the last four year funds that critics say were hidden from the eyes of state governors and local governments.

“The era of opaque first-line deductions is over,” stated Special Adviser Bayo Onanuga. “The President is restoring the constitutional entitlement of the Nigerian people. We cannot have billions of naira sitting in ‘idle balances’ for speculative projects while our schools, hospitals, and roads remain underfunded. The NNPCL must now operate strictly as a commercial entity, living within its 20% profit retention.”

The move has sent shockwaves through the oil industry. By mandating that all royalties and taxes from International Oil Companies (IOCs) be paid directly to the federation, the President has effectively demoted the NNPCL from its role as a “revenue collector” to just another player on the field.

While the 36 state governors are celebrating the projected massive increase in their monthly FAAC allocations, the “State of Harmony” in the oil sector is facing a sudden chill. Industry analysts warn that by scrapping the Frontier Exploration Fund, high-stakes projects in the Lake Chad and Kolmani basins could stall indefinitely. Furthermore, legal heavyweights are already questioning if the President has the power to “delete” sections of the PIA with a mere signature, suggesting that the battle for Nigeria’s oil billions may soon move from the Presidential Villa to the Supreme Court.