PENGASSAN Kicks Against Tinubu’s Order on Oil Revenue

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has rejected President Bola Tinubu’s new Executive Order that mandates the direct remittance of oil and gas revenues to the Federation Account. The union described the directive as a dangerous precedent that undermines the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and could erode investor confidence in the sector. PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo called for the immediate withdrawal of the order, arguing that an executive order cannot override an existing law enacted by the National Assembly.

President Tinubu signed the order requiring that royalty oil, tax oil, profit oil, profit gas, and other revenues from production sharing contracts be paid directly into the Federation Account. The order also scrapped the 30 per cent Frontier Exploration Fund under the PIA and stopped the 30 per cent management fee on profit oil and profit gas previously retained by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The Presidency justified the move as necessary to safeguard revenues and curb excessive deductions.

Osifo argued that the executive order unlawfully sets aside key provisions of the PIA, which took over a decade to enact. He specifically disputed claims that NNPCL retains 30 per cent of revenue from production sharing contracts, stating the actual figure is below two per cent. He also clarified that the Frontier Exploration Fund does not go to NNPCL as a company but to a dedicated account, insisting that the President was misled by advisors who did not present the full truth about the industry’s financial arrangements.