The Presidency has clarified that Executive Order 9 (EO9) is a constitutional measure aimed at safeguarding Federation revenues, dismissed claims that it represented presidential overreach.
In a statement signed by Tanimu Yakubu, Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation and Secretary of the Implementation Committee on EO9, the government said EO9 does not create law but enforces existing constitutional provisions on revenue management.
“Section 80(1) of the Constitution is mandatory: all revenues or other moneys raised or received by the Federation must be paid into and form one Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation. Public revenue cannot lawfully be retained, applied, or warehoused outside constitutional funds,” the statement read.
The statement further noted that Section 162 complements this rule by requiring revenues accruing to the Federation to be deposited into the Federation Account for distribution according to constitutional allocation principles. EO9, the statement emphasized, operationalizes these provisions in the oil and gas sector, directing direct remittance of petroleum revenues—including royalties, taxes, profit oil and gas, penalties, and related receipts—into constitutionally recognised accounts, while strengthening reconciliation and transparency.
EO9, according to Yakubu, does not interfere with legislative competence. “Section 60(1) preserves the procedural autonomy of the National Assembly; EO9 does not regulate legislative procedure, amend the Petroleum Industry Act, or repeal any statute. It is an executive instrument issued under Section 5 to ensure faithful execution of the Constitution and applicable laws,” the statement said.
The statement concluded that any dispute over the constitutional validity of EO9 should be resolved by the judiciary. In the meantime, the Executive is duty-bound to protect Federation revenues, maintain constitutional supremacy, and ensure fiscal integrity for FAAC distributions, budget credibility, and macroeconomic stability.
