Executive Order 9 takes effect as FG halts NNPCL’s 30% deductions

Mkpoikana Udoma

Port Harcourt — Nigeria has moved to tighten control over petroleum revenue flows, ordering the immediate cessation of key deductions by NNPC Limited as implementation of Executive Order 9 of 2026 formally begins.

This is as the Implementation Committee for Executive Order 9 reaffirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive that revenues accruing to the Federation from petroleum operations must be handled in a manner consistent with constitutional provisions and fiscal sustainability across the three tiers of government.

The committee during its inaugural meeting declared immediate halt of the 30 percent management fee and the 30 percent frontier exploration fund deductions from profit oil and profit gas under Production Sharing Contracts, PSCs, by NNPC Limited.

Additionally, all remittances of gas flare penalties into the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, MDGIF, have been suspended with immediate effect.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, who chairs the Implementation Committee, said the measures are aimed at safeguarding Federal revenues and strengthening transparency in petroleum revenue administration.

The Committee also addressed Section 2, Sub-section 3 of the Executive Order, which mandates direct payments by contractors into the Federation Account.

Recognising the sensitivity of existing contractual and financing arrangements, the Committee approved a structured transition period before the full operationalisation of direct remittance of profit oil, royalty oil, and tax oil by contractors.

“Until detailed guidelines are issued, contractors will continue to remit under the current process,” the Committee stated, adding that the transition will be carefully managed to “maintain investor confidence” and ensure an orderly changeover.

To fast-track implementation, the Committee approved the establishment of a Technical Subcommittee with a three-week mandate to develop detailed transition guidelines and commence a review of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, to address structural and fiscal anomalies affecting Federation revenues.

The Technical Subcommittee will be led by the Special Adviser to the President on Energy and will include the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice; the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service; the Chairman of the Forum of Commissioners of Finance; and representatives of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil). The Budget Office of the Federation will provide secretarial support.

The Committee pledged continued coordinated guidance and timely updates as implementation progresses, commending stakeholders for their cooperation in ensuring that Nigeria’s petroleum resources translate into measurable fiscal benefits for citizens.

Executive Order 9 marks one of the most consequential fiscal interventions in Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas sector in recent years, with implications for NNPC’s financial structure, Federation Account inflows, and investor engagement under PSC frameworks.