The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has expressed strong support for reforms mandating the direct remittance of oil and gas revenue entitlements into the Federation Account, describing the move as a critical step toward strengthening fiscal transparency, predictability, and constitutional alignment across all tiers of government.
The position follows the signing of Executive Order 9 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on February 13, 2026.
The Executive Order directs the realignment of oil and gas revenue flows in accordance with constitutional provisions and clarifies regulatory responsibilities within the petroleum sector.
Strengthening Constitutional Alignment
According to the NGF, the Order requires that government entitlements under production-sharing and related contracts—including royalty oil, tax oil, profit oil, and profit gas—be paid directly into the Federation Account.
The reforms also aim to strengthen the delineation of regulatory mandates across the petroleum value chain.
The Forum emphasized that its primary interest lies in how the reforms enhance transparency, improve predictability, and reinforce constitutional compliance in Federation Account inflows shared by the federal, state, and local governments.
As a non-partisan body representing the 36 state governors, the NGF underscored that the integrity and predictability of Federation Account revenues are fundamental to Nigeria’s fiscal federalism framework. Oil and gas earnings remain central to the nation’s distributable income, and any opacity or inconsistency in remittance pathways can weaken fiscal planning.
Impact on FAAC and Subnational Governments
Recent communiqués from the Federal Allocation Account Committee (FAAC) have highlighted disparities between gross revenue collections and final distributable sums. For subnational governments, the latter ultimately determines fiscal capacity and the scope of service delivery.
The NGF noted that complex or layered remittance channels reduce fiscal predictability, directly affecting capital planning cycles at federal, state, and local levels.
With Nigeria’s population now exceeding 220 million and growing rapidly, states remain at the forefront of delivering education, primary healthcare, infrastructure, and security. Predictable and transparent revenue flows, the Forum argued, are essential for meeting these responsibilities sustainably.
AbdulRazaq: Predictability Improves Planning
Commenting on the development, the NGF Chairman and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, described the Federation Account as “the backbone of Nigeria’s intergovernmental fiscal system.”
“Structural clarity in the remittance of nationally owned resources strengthens fiscal stability across all tiers of government,” AbdulRazaq said. “Predictability improves planning. Planning improves delivery.
The Governors’ Forum supports reforms that enhance transparency, reinforce constitutional alignment, and strengthen the collective capacity of governments to meet the needs of our growing population.”
The statement was issued by Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, Director, Media & Strategic Communications, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), and dated March 2, 2026.
The Forum reiterated that reforms aimed at strengthening fiscal coherence and reinforcing the constitutional framework governing resource ownership would ultimately benefit the entire Federation, adding that sustainable economic growth requires robust institutions, disciplined revenue management, and effective alignment between policy intent and operational execution.
