ADC Slams Tinubu Over Cancellation of NNPC Legacy Money owed as Unconstitutional
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of the cancellation of legacy money owed owed by the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Firm Restricted (NNPC Ltd) to the Federation Account.
The celebration argued that the President lacks the constitutional authority to cancel revenues belonging to all tiers of presidency, warning that the choice would considerably scale back funds attributable to state and native councils.
In an announcement issued by its Nationwide Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC stated the motion amounted to a transparent breach of Part 162 of the 1999 Structure, which regulates revenues paid into and shared from the Federation Account.
In response to the celebration, paperwork introduced to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revealed that the President authorized the elimination of roughly $1.42 billion and N5.57 trillion in legacy NNPC money owed from Federation Account data following what was described as a reconciliation train with regulators.
The ADC famous that the money owed stemmed from production sharing contracts, home crude provide obligations, royalty receivables and different excellent balances gathered as much as December 31, 2024.
The celebration expressed explicit concern that about 96 per cent of the dollar-denominated legacy obligations and 88 per cent of the naira-denominated balances had been written off via an govt directive, with out legislative approval or clear constitutional backing.
It warned that such a write-off, allegedly justified by reconciliation, couldn’t lawfully override constitutional provisions on income sharing, including that the motion successfully removes longstanding liabilities from public accounts whereas shrinking the income base meant for distribution to states and native governments.
The ADC pressured that no govt motion can supersede the Structure, noting that Part 162 clearly mandates that every one revenues accruing to the Federation, together with oil-related revenue and obligations, have to be paid into the Federation Account and shared among the many federal, state and native governments.
“The Federation Account is just not below the management of the President, and no president has the ability to cancel constitutionally due revenues. Any motion that reduces funds meant for states and native governments with out legislative approval is due to this fact unconstitutional,” the celebration said.
The ADC added that it has repeatedly raised issues over what it described because the President’s continued disregard for constitutional provisions, expressing additional alarm at what it termed the Nationwide Meeting’s obvious inaction or complicity.
In response to the celebration, such alleged constitutional violations would ordinarily be ample to set off impeachment proceedings, insisting that Nigeria is ruled by the rule of regulation.
“As a nation of legal guidelines and never of people, no president can override the protections of the Structure. The Federation Account belongs to all tiers of presidency and can’t be subjected to the discretion of the Federal Government,” the assertion concluded.