The African Democratic Congress, (ADC), has condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of a debt waiver for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), describing the move as unconstitutional, and a violation of Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, (as amended).
The party’s reaction follows reports that President Tinubu authorised the cancellation of a substantial portion of NNPCL’s legacy debts amounting to about ₦7.6 trillion owed to the Federation Account.
The decision has sparked widespread criticism, with civil society organisations and legal experts warning that it undermines transparency, fiscal discipline and public accountability.
In a statement issued yesterday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC alleged that the debt write-off was carried out without the approval of the National Assembly, raising serious constitutional concerns.
According to the party, documents presented to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) showed that the President approved the removal of approximately $1.42 billion and ₦5.57 trillion in legacy NNPCL debts from the Federation Account books after a reconciliation exercise with relevant regulators. The liabilities, the ADC said, were accumulated up to December 31, 2024.
The opposition party expressed particular concern that about 96% of the dollar-denominated debts and 88% of the Naira-denominated obligations were written off solely through executive action.
“This write-off was done without legislative or parliamentary approval or any clear constitutional authority,” the statement said, adding that the justification of a “reconciliation” process could not override constitutional provisions governing revenue sharing.
The ADC argued that the action effectively reduced funds constitutionally due to states and local government councils, stressing that all revenues accruing to the federation must, under Section 162 of the Constitution, be paid into the Federation Account for distribution among the three tiers of government.
“The Federation Account is not subject to Executive discretion. No President has the unilateral authority to cancel revenues constitutionally due to it”, the party stated, warning that any action diminishing revenues to states and local governments without legislative backing is unconstitutional.
The party further accused President Tinubu of repeated breaches of the Constitution, insisting that the NNPC debt waiver alone was sufficient to warrant impeachment proceedings. “We have said it before, and we will say it again: President Tinubu has repeatedly violated the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, the ADC said, also criticising what it described as the National Assembly’s failure to act.
“As a nation governed by the rule of law, no President can override constitutional safeguards. The Federation Account belongs to all tiers of Government, and cannot be subjected to the discretion of the Federal Executive”, the statement concluded.
