The African Democratic Congress (ADC) strongly condemns President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 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, reckless, and injurious to the financial interests of States and Local Governments.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the President’s decision amounts to a grave violation of Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which governs the Federation Account and the distribution of national revenue.
According to official documents presented to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), President Tinubu approved the removal of approximately $1.42 billion and ₦5.57 trillion in legacy NNPC debts from the Federation Account records, covering liabilities accumulated up to 31 December 2024. These debts arose from production sharing contracts, domestic supply obligations, royalty receivables, and other outstanding balances.
The ADC is alarmed that about 96 percent of the dollar-denominated debts and 88 percent of the naira-denominated debts were written off by executive directive, without legislative approval or any clear constitutional authority.
No amount of administrative “reconciliation” can lawfully extinguish revenues constitutionally due to the Federation. What the President has done is to unilaterally remove substantial public liabilities from the books, while effectively denying States and Local Governments revenues that rightfully belong to them.
The Constitution is explicit. Section 162 mandates that all revenues due to the Federation must be paid into the Federation Account and shared among the three tiers of government. The Federation Account is not subject to presidential discretion. No President has the power to cancel, waive, or write off constitutionally due revenues without the approval of the National Assembly.
This action represents yet another instance in a disturbing pattern of constitutional violations by President Tinubu. Even more troubling is the apparent silence, acquiescence, or outright surrender by the National Assembly in the face of this serious breach. Ordinarily, such conduct should attract immediate legislative scrutiny and could constitute grounds for impeachment.
Nigeria is a nation governed by laws, not executive whims. The Federation Account belongs jointly to the Federal, State, and Local Governments, and cannot be treated as a private ledger of the Federal Executive.
The ADC calls on all Nigerians, particularly State Governments, lawmakers, and civil society, to reject this unconstitutional action and demand full accountability in the management of national revenues.
