The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has expressed full support for President Bola Tinubu’s directive to have oil and gas revenues remitted directly into the Federation Account, calling the measure crucial for fiscal transparency, predictability, and constitutional compliance, ENigeria Newpaper learnt.
The NGF’s position, announced Monday through its Director of Media and Strategic Communications, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, emphasized that this reform strengthens the integrity of Federation Account inflows across federal, state, and local governments. The forum said that ensuring clear, predictable revenue streams is vital for capital planning, debt management, infrastructure delivery, and public service provision.
“As a non-partisan body representing the 36 state governors of the federation, the NGF underscores that the integrity and predictability of Federation Account inflows are foundational to Nigeria’s fiscal federalism. Oil and gas revenues remain a central component of the distributable national income”, the statement read.
Recall that ENigeria Newspaper reported that President Tinubu signed Executive Order 9 on February 13, 2026, mandating a realignment of oil and gas revenue flows to match constitutional provisions while clarifying regulatory responsibilities within the petroleum sector. The order requires all entitlements under production-sharing agreements, including royalty oil, tax oil, profit oil, and profit gas, to be remitted directly to the Federation Account.
The NGF underscored that consistent revenue flows would help states meet the growing demands of Nigeria’s population, now exceeding 220 million, particularly in education, healthcare, security, and infrastructure.
“When remittance pathways are layered, complex, or difficult to reconcile, fiscal predictability weakens, and that directly affects capital planning cycles across the federation at federal, state, and local government levels.
“Nigeria’s population now exceeds 220 million and continues to grow rapidly. States sit at the frontline of delivering education, primary healthcare, infrastructure, security architecture, and economic opportunity to this expanding population”, the statement added.
According to the forum, past Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) reports show discrepancies between gross revenue collections and final distributable amounts, which undermine fiscal predictability.
AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Chairman of the NGF and Governor of Kwara State, described the Federation Account as “the backbone of Nigeria’s intergovernmental fiscal system,” emphasizing that clear and streamlined remittance pathways are essential for the country’s fiscal federalism.
While the Executive Order has drawn both praise and criticism nationally, the governors, however, stressed that the direct remittance of oil and gas revenues would make funding for projects more predictable, help states plan better, and ensure that resources reach local communities efficiently. They framed the move as a practical step toward strengthening fiscal federalism and improving governance across the country.
