The Federal Government has commenced the implementation of Executive Order 9 of 2026, a new directive aimed at safeguarding petroleum revenues and strengthening the management of funds accruing to the Federation.
The Implementation Committee for the Executive Order held its inaugural meeting on February 26, 2026, marking the formal take-off of measures introduced by President Bola Tinubu to protect federal revenues and enhance fiscal stability.
At the meeting, the Committee reaffirmed the President’s directive that revenues generated from petroleum operations must be managed in strict compliance with constitutional provisions, while ensuring that funds due to the Federation are fully protected and transparently accounted for. The reforms are also designed to support the fiscal health of the federal, state and local governments.
As part of the immediate steps, the Committee directed NNPC Limited to discontinue the collection of the 30 per cent management fee and the 30 per cent frontier exploration fund deductions from profit oil and profit gas under Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs).
In addition, all remittances of gas flare penalties into the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) have been suspended with immediate effect in line with the Executive Order.
In a statement signed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, who also chairs the Implementation Committee, the government clarified that the transition to direct payments by contractors into the Federation Account would be carefully managed to avoid disruptions.
“With respect to Section 2, Sub-section 3 of the Executive Order on direct payments by contractors into the Federation Account, the Committee agreed that this transition must be implemented in a manner that respects existing contractual and financing arrangements, and maintains investor confidence,” the statement said.
The Committee approved a defined transition period for the operationalisation of direct payments of profit oil, royalty oil and tax oil by contractors into the Federation Account. Until detailed guidelines are issued, contractors will continue to remit revenues under the existing process.
During the transition phase, the Committee will release clear and standardised guidance to ensure an orderly and transparent changeover to the new framework.
To facilitate this process, the Committee approved the establishment of a Technical Subcommittee tasked with developing detailed transition guidelines within three weeks. The subcommittee will also commence a review of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to address structural and fiscal gaps that may be weakening 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 of the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, the Chairman of the Forum of Commissioners of Finance, as well as representatives of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil). The Budget Office of the Federation will provide secretarial support.
The Implementation Committee said it would continue to provide coordinated guidance and timely updates as the reforms progress, while commending stakeholders for their cooperation in advancing efforts to ensure that Nigeria’s petroleum resources deliver measurable benefits to citizens across the country.
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