Six months after President Bola Tinubu issued Executive Order 9 of 2026 to redirect petroleum revenues to the Federation Account, government records show ₦211.73bn accumulated in frontier exploration and gas-flaring penalty accounts, while ₦92.59bn in Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) management fees was distributed to the three tiers of government.
According to a report by The PUNCH, the figures are contained in ledgers from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and documents presented to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) at its September meeting, where the August 2026 accounts were considered.
The figures raise questions about the implementation of the executive order and the accounting treatment of petroleum revenues following the suspension of specified deductions.
Executive Order 9, signed on February 13, 2026, suspended the 30 per cent management fee and 30 per cent Frontier Exploration Fund deductions from profit oil and profit gas under specified production-sharing contracts. It also suspended the remittance of gas-flaring penalties to the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund.
The measures were designed to improve transparency, address structural revenue leakages and ensure that funds due to the Federation are available for distribution to the Federal Government, states and local governments in accordance with constitutional provisions.
However, records cited by The PUNCH indicate that receipts continued to accumulate in accounts associated with the suspended deductions, despite the directive.
The Frontier Exploration Fund ledger recorded cumulative receipts of ₦106.75bn between February and September 2026, with no payments recorded during the period. Separately, the gas-flaring penalty ledger showed ₦104.98bn transferred into a FAAC withheld escrow account between February and October.
Together, the two accounts reportedly held ₦211.73bn, although the available records do not fully explain the accounting treatment or the basis for the continued inflows.
The frontier exploration account recorded its largest monthly inflow in March at ₦36.40bn before receipts declined in subsequent months. In August, the amount fell to ₦6.90bn but rose sharply to ₦14.16bn in September, representing an increase of approximately 105.1 per cent.
The September inflow increased the cumulative balance in the account from ₦92.59bn at the end of August to ₦106.75bn. The records do not establish whether the latest receipts represent new deductions, delayed accounting entries, recoveries or amounts arising from transitional arrangements.
The management-fee account also recorded cumulative receipts of ₦92.59bn between February and August. The entire balance was subsequently listed as paid to the three tiers of government on October 12, according to the report.
However, the ledger recorded a further ₦14.16bn in management fees for September on October 14, creating a new balance after the earlier distribution.
The continued accumulation of funds in these accounts presents an important implementation question for the Federal Government, NNPC, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and FAAC.
While the distribution of ₦92.59bn in management fees indicates that funds previously retained in the account have reached the three tiers of government, the subsequent entries highlight the need for greater clarity on how petroleum revenues are being processed under the new framework.
When the implementation committee announced the arrangements on February 26, former Finance Minister Wale Edun said NNPC Limited would immediately cease collecting the specified management fees and frontier exploration deductions. He also confirmed the suspension of gas-flaring penalty remittances to the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund.
Tinubu had argued that excessive deductions, overlapping funds and structural distortions weakened remittances to the Federation Account, limiting resources available for public expenditure and development.
For the policy to achieve its intended objectives, implementation must be supported by transparent accounting, clear reconciliation of outstanding balances and consistent reporting of all petroleum-related receipts and distributions.
The relevant authorities would therefore need to explain the continued inflows, establish whether the entries reflect deductions made before the directive took effect or transactions arising from subsequent accounting adjustments, and clarify the treatment of the funds recorded across the frontier exploration and gas-flaring penalty accounts.
Such clarification would help determine the extent to which Executive Order 9 has changed petroleum revenue flows and whether the intended benefits are translating into improved Federation Account receipts.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of the order will depend not only on the suspension of specified deductions but also on the transparent reconciliation of petroleum revenues and their timely distribution to the three tiers of government.