The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent approval of the cancellation of approximately $1.42 billion and ₦5.57 trillion in legacy debts owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to the Federation Account, describing it as a blatant violation of the Constitution.
In a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party argued that the executive directive, eliminating about 96% of dollar-denominated and 88% of naira-denominated obligations without legislative approval, breaches Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates that all revenues, including oil-related receipts, be paid into the Federation Account for sharing among the three tiers of government.
“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,” the coalition party stated.
The ADC warned that the move reduces the revenue base distributable to subnational entities, asserting that no president has unilateral authority to cancel debts due to the Federation. “Executive action cannot override the Constitution,” the statement read, accusing President Tinubu of repeated constitutional violations and criticising the National Assembly for its “wilful surrender” in failing to check the executive.
“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”.
