The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s recent approval to cancel legacy debts owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC Ltd, to the Federation Account.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi on Saturday, the party criticized the executive action, which involved the removal of approximately $1.42 billion (USD) and N5.57 trillion (NGN) in legacy NNPC debts from public records.
The directive, which covers outstanding liabilities accumulated up to December 31, 2024, reportedly addresses obligations arising from production sharing contracts, domestic supply obligations, royalty receivables, and other legacy balances.
The ADC stated that nearly 96 percent of dollar-denominated legacy obligations and 88 percent of naira-denominated legacy balances were written off by executive fiat, without legislative approval or constitutional authority.
The party described the justification of “reconciliation” as insufficient to override constitutional requirements for revenue sharing.
“The Federation Account is not subject to executive discretion. No President, including this one, has the unilateral authority to cancel constitutionally due revenues,” the statement read.
“Any cancellation that reduces revenue due to States and Local Governments without legislative authority is unconstitutional.”
The party also expressed concern over what it perceives as “active collusion or willful surrender” by the National Assembly in allowing the move.
According to the ADC, such actions undermine the Constitution and could constitute grounds for impeachment proceedings.
“President Tinubu has repeatedly violated the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
“The Federation Account belongs to all tiers of government and cannot be subject to the discretion of the Federal Executive or the President,” Abdullahi emphasized.
The ADC has called on all relevant authorities to uphold the Constitution and protect the interests of States and Local Governments, stressing that Nigeria is a nation of laws, not of men.
This is unconstitutional – ADC slams Tinubu over NNPC debt cancellation
Leave a Reply