PENGASSAN Rejects Tinubu’s Executive Order on Oil Revenues, Warns of Investor Fallout
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has raised serious objections to President Bola Tinubu’s recent executive order directing all oil and gas revenues to be remitted directly to the Federation Account. Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo described the directive as a “dangerous precedent” that could undermine the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and deter investors from the sector.
Signed on Wednesday, the order mandates that royalty oil, tax oil, profit oil, profit gas, and other revenues under production sharing, profit sharing, and risk service contracts go straight to the Federation Account. It also removes the 30 percent Frontier Exploration Fund and management fee on profit oil and profit gas retained by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). PENGASSAN insists that such an executive order cannot override laws enacted by the National Assembly.
Osifo criticized the move as being misinformed and potentially misleading to investors, arguing that it directly contradicts Sections 8, 9, and 64 of the PIA. “What the president has done is to use an executive order to set aside a law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That is exactly what has happened,” he said. The union also disputed claims that NNPCL receives 30 percent of revenue under production sharing contracts, clarifying that the actual figure is far lower and that Frontier Exploration Fund contributions do not go directly to the company.
Beyond legal concerns, PENGASSAN warned that the executive order could jeopardize roughly 4,000 jobs within NNPC. Osifo highlighted the wider economic implications, explaining that disruptions to investment and production could reduce foreign exchange earnings, weaken the exchange rate, and affect ordinary Nigerians’ purchasing power. The union emphasized that its fight is about the survival of Nigeria’s oil industry and the broader economy, not merely worker benefits.
The union called on President Tinubu to immediately recall the executive order, expressing surprise that the government opted for an executive directive instead of sponsoring a bill to amend the PIA. PENGASSAN vowed to continue engaging stakeholders, including the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and other industry bodies, in efforts to review the directive. A further course of action is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
source: punch