ADC condemns Tinubu’s unconstitutional write off of NNPC debts

• Warns of revenue loss to States

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has faulted 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, warning that the move is unconstitutional and financially harmful to states and local governments.

The party said this in a statement at the weekend by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi in Abuja.

The ADC argued that up to 96 percent of the dollar-denominated debts and 88 percent of the naira-denominated debts were removed by executive directive without legislative approval, in violation of Section 162 of the Constitution.

The coalition party accused President Tinubu of repeatedly breaching the Constitution and criticised the National Assembly’s silence in the face of what it called a serious constitutional breach.

The statement by Abdullahi reads, “the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is deeply alarmed by the action recently taken by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, approving the cancellation of legacy debts owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to the Federation Account.

“This action involved the presidential approval of the cancellation of legacy debts previously reported as outstanding, including those arising from production sharing contracts, domestic supply obligations, royalty receivables, and other legacy balances.

“According to official documents presented to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), the President approved the removal from the Federation Account books of approximately $1.42 billion (USD) and N5.57 trillion (NGN) in legacy NNPC debt following a reconciliation of records with regulators.

“This directive covers outstanding liabilities accumulated up to 31 December 2024.

“The ADC is especially concerned that nearly 96 percent of the dollar denominated legacy obligations and 88 percent of the naira denominated legacy balances were written off by executive directive.

“This write off was done without legislative or parliamentary approval or clear constitutional authority.

“This purported justification of ‘reconciliation’ cannot lawfully override the constitutional requirements for revenue sharing.

“The action effectively removes longstanding liabilities from public accounts, but at the cost of reducing the revenue base constitutionally distributable to States and Local Governments.

“It is important to emphasise that executive action cannot override the Constitution. Under Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), all revenues due to the Federation, including oil sector receipts and related obligations, must be paid into the Federation Account and shared among the Federal, State, and Local Governments.

“The Federation Account is not subject to executive discretion, no President, including this one, has the unilateral authority to cancel constitutionally due revenues, and any cancellation that reduces revenue due to the States and Local Governments without legislative authority is unconstitutional.

“We have said it before, and we will say it again, President Tinubu has repeatedly violated the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Even more worrying, however, is what appears to be active collusion or wilful surrender by the National Assembly.

“Ordinarily, these egregious assaults on the Constitution should be sufficient grounds to commence impeachment proceedings.

“As a nation of laws, and not of men, no President can override what the Constitution protects”, it said.

The party made it expressly clear that the Federation Account belongs to all tiers of government, and cannot be subject to the discretion of the Federal Executive or the President.