The Federal Government has taken steps to tighten control over the country’s petroleum revenues, following the inaugural meeting of the Implementation Committee for Executive Order 9, signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Key decisions reached include stopping NNPC Limited from collecting the 30% management fee and 30% frontier exploration fund deductions from profit oil and gas under Production Sharing Contracts with immediate effect. Gas flare penalties remittances into the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund have also been suspended.
Contractors will now make direct payments of profit oil, royalty oil, and tax oil into the Federation Account, but with a transition period to respect existing contracts and maintain investor confidence, while a Technical Subcommittee has been set up to develop guidelines for the transition and review the Petroleum Industry Act to address revenue weaknesses.
The Implementation Committee, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, assured stakeholders of continued coordination and regular updates while commending their cooperation in ensuring that Nigeria’s petroleum resources yield greater benefits for citizens nationwide.