The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned that President Bola Tinubu’s executive order directing oil revenues to be paid directly into the federation account could undermine the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited’s financial structure and put jobs at risk.
The order, signed on February 18, removes NNPC Limited’s authority to deduct operational costs from oil and gas revenues before remitting funds to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
Speaking on Thursday, PENGASSAN president Festus Osifo said the directive conflicts with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which established NNPC Limited as a commercial entity with defined financial powers.
Read Also: Why I issued executive order on NNPC’s finances— Tinubu
“Our members are in danger of being declared redundant because NNPC may not be able to meet their obligations to our members,” Osifo said.
He argued that sections 8, 9 and 64 of the PIA clearly outline NNPC Limited’s financial autonomy, adding that an executive order cannot override legislation passed by the National Assembly.
“The executive order that was signed by the president is a direct attack on the PIA,” Osifo said. “Executive orders cannot supersede the law of the land.”
PENGASSAN said the directive could also weaken investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector by creating uncertainty about the stability of its legal and fiscal framework. The union warned that investors may begin to question whether protections under the PIA can be altered through executive action.
Osifo said the union believes the president may not have been fully briefed on the implications of the order, noting that the decision contradicts efforts to attract investment into the sector.
