The federal government’s directive to ensure direct remittance of oil and gas revenues into the Federation Account has received cautious backing from state finance officials, even as labour unions warn of potential disruptions in the petroleum sector.
President Bola Tinubu’s Executive Order 9, signed in February 2026, mandates that oil and gas revenues due to the Federation be paid in full before any deductions or appropriations. The order aims to enforce constitutional compliance and curb revenue leakages created under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Akintunde Oyebode, Chairman of the Forum of State Commissioners of Finance and Finance Commissioner for Ekiti State, said in an interview on Arise News that the directive would add about ₦1.5 trillion to the Federation Account. “In total, from the management fee, frontier exploration fee and gas flaring penalties, we estimate approximately ₦1.5tn will be added,” he said.
Oyebode, however, noted that the increase is modest compared with the account’s annual inflows of over ₦30 trillion. “It’s a single-digit impact in terms of growth on the Federation Account. But that’s not the point,” he said, adding that the order is about constitutional compliance rather than extra revenue for states.