Tinubu’s Directive To Transfer NNPCL Revenue To Central Bank ‘Illegal’: PDP’s Atiku

Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), has slammed President Bola Tinubu's directive to Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to submit its crude oil sales proceeds to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Though very little information about this decision has been made public, Abubakar stated that this is an illegal directive from the president and it can hinder the operation of the national oil company.

"Without prejudice to the possibility of any good that was intended in the decision of the Federal Government to make the CBN take over the responsibility for crude oil sales proceeds from the NNPCL, it must be clearly stated that the action is not legal in its application," he wrote on his official X handle (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday.

Abubakar pointed out that the information that is publicly available about this decision reveals that the president has issued a directive that the NNPCL would submit receipts for crude oil sales to CBN for vetting and documentation.

"Whatever may be the merit of the new arrangement, the presidential directive is a violation of the legal status of the NNPCL. It is an arbitrary order capable of undermining the operational independence of the NNPCL," he said.

The former vice president of Nigeria said the president has "wrested control of the finances of the NNPCL and donated the same to the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria."

Abubakar stressed that this is an "unprecedented act," which has been done "without any legal or ethical basis," adding that it also violates the principle of due process in public administration.

Furthermore, he noted that none of the state-owned enterprises are supposed to follow such orders and instead, the entities have complete control over their financial matter within the "confines of their respective establishment laws."

NNPCL was created under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and signed into law by the President of Nigeria on Aug. 16, 2021. This makes the entity an independent limited liability company in Sections 53 to 65 of the Act.

Further, Abubakar said the any efforts to undermine the operational independence of the NNPCL will impede the prospects of attracting investments and attaining global relevance in the Petroleum Industry.

He also noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria, as per the Central Bank Act 2007, doesn't have any authority for vetting the transactions of, or formulating and maintaining the internal controls and internal audits in state-owned enterprises, public or private.

"The government must, therefore, respect the provisions of the law and allow the NNPCL to run as an independent company based on sound commercial objectives and in line with international best practices and standard principles of corporate governance," he added.

The statement came two weeks after Tinubu said his administration would continue to intervene in the oil and gas industry to safeguard and enhance the value of investments in the country.