The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reported approval of the cancellation of legacy debts owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to the Federation Account, describing the action as unconstitutional and detrimental to states and local governments.
The opposition party warned that the move would significantly reduce funds meant for sub-national governments, insisting that the President lacks the constitutional authority to cancel revenues that belong to all three tiers of government.
In a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the decision amounted to a clear violation of Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, which regulates how revenue is paid into and shared from the Federation Account.
According to the party, official documents presented to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) indicated that the President approved the removal of approximately $1.42 billion and N5.57 trillion in legacy NNPC debts from the Federation Account records. The write-off reportedly followed what was described as a reconciliation exercise between NNPC Ltd and relevant regulators.
The ADC said the debts in question arose from production sharing contracts, domestic crude supply obligations, royalty receivables and other outstanding balances accumulated up to 31 December 2024.
“The ADC is especially concerned that nearly 96 per cent of the dollar-denominated legacy obligations and 88 per cent of the naira-denominated legacy balances were written off by executive directive,” the statement said.
“This write-off was done without legislative or parliamentary approval or clear constitutional authority. This purported justification of reconciliation cannot lawfully override the constitutional requirements for revenue sharing.”
The party argued that while the action may remove long-standing liabilities from public accounts, it does so at the expense of states and local governments by shrinking the revenue base meant to be shared constitutionally.
According to the ADC, no executive decision can override the provisions of the Constitution. It stressed that Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution clearly states that all revenues due to the Federation, including oil-related income and obligations, must be paid into the Federation Account and shared among the federal, state and local governments.
“The Federation Account is not under the control of the President, and no president has the power to cancel revenues that are constitutionally due,” the party said. “Any action that cuts the funds meant for states and local governments without approval from the legislature is therefore unconstitutional.”
The ADC further accused President Tinubu of repeatedly acting in ways that violate the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It also expressed concern over what it described as the apparent cooperation or inaction of the National Assembly in the face of such decisions.
According to the party, violations of this magnitude would ordinarily be sufficient to trigger impeachment proceedings in a constitutional democracy.
“As a nation of laws, and not of men, no President can override what the Constitution protects. The Federation Account belongs to all tiers of government and cannot be subjected to the discretion of the Federal Executive or the President,” the statement concluded.
