PIA, Executive Order 9_2026 and the LIMITEDNESS of NNPC Ltd

In a fresh development, The Nigerian petroleum industry has been troubled in recent times. One of the most recent ‘troubles’ was the irreversible disruption of the market by Dangote, the sabotage from those whom we thought were his friends and the bolekaja response of genuine and fake interested parties. Another trouble was the axing of Mele Kyare and his replacement with Mr Ojulari, who started with a tempestuous start when he was said to have resigned before the news went into voicemail. Of course, there are other issues, such as whether they were paying a subsidy or not, the relationship with Oando, which bought or resold all or some of the fuel stations, the culture of the president being the minister of petroleum (or rather the minister of NNPC), and the incestuous relationship between the opaque oil octopus and the president or the amorphous presidency. There was a perception of calmness when the minister of petroleum, in his capacity as the president, issued EO926 (Executive Order 9 of 2026) on 13/2/26. The EO626 abolished the 30% management fee and 30% retention for the frontier exploration fund so that all government entitlements from oil and gas could be paid directly into the Federation account. It was aimed at restoring the ‘constitutional revenue entitlements for all tiers of government’. The practical objective is to increase what should be SHARED, and in a sharing economy, everything is about what is shared, whether through subsidy ‘removal’, ‘restructuring’ the foreign exchange market or overhauling the tax system. No attention is paid to the crucial question of ‘Where does the money go?!’ This order has troubled the waters in monumental proportions, even though there are no open rumbles and grumbles. Nobody dares do that! I wish to state upfront that I never liked this ‘Executive Order’ business. In a pretend-democracy state with three arms of government, it is anomalous and opprobrious for one arm to just decree whatever comes to be. This is more military than democratic. I admit, though, that we have been acting like a one-armed democracy, as two of the arms willingly and intentionally surrendered their arms to, or merged their arms with those of, the executive. While admitting that I am not a petroleum economist, I want to ‘put my mouth’ into how this EO626 interfaced with the limited status of NNPC and its relationship with PIA, the ‘Grundnorm’ of petroleum operations in Nigeria. “The Israelites would have spent 40 days in the wilderness, but the journey took 40 years due to their intransigence, rebelliousness, and failure to follow simple instructions.” The Israelites would have spent 40 days in the wilderness, but the journey took 40 years due to their intransigence, rebelliousness, and failure to follow simple instructions. PIA was expected to last maybe 20 months in the NASS, but it spent about 20 years in legislative wilderness as oil majors were scheming to ensure that we do not actually earn actual oil independence, as Niger Delta elders were striving to ensure that ‘Igbos do not take out oil’ (and they were comfortable if others took it) and that the framework for sharing oil windfalls was as opaque as possible. NASS committees wanted to keep it as long as possible so as to corner lobbying and siting allowances, and the presidency wanted to ensure that they continued with their chokehold on oil sector operations, especially as it had become the norm for the president to be the minister of petroleum or, better still, the minister of NNPC and allied matters. The PIA was signed into law by a repentant and autocratic democrat (I am not sure of where we are today), PMB, under whose term as Commissioner for Petroleum that N2.8bn vanished, on 16/8/2021. It was aimed at reforming the petroleum industry, promoting transparency (wishful thinking) and attracting investments. Section 64 has a provision for the NNPC management fee. NNPC, which was established in 1977, operated as one of the parasitic parastatals within the federal bureaucracy. However, in line with the spirit of PIA, it became a limited liability company on 19th July, 2022. Since then, the question has been whether it was and is possible for the NNPCL to assert its limitedness or wean itself from the suffocating control of the government or for the government to let go of its most beautiful financial bride, which became one of the departments in the presidency when the ‘olori-oko’ became the MOP (Minister of Petroleum). But the transformation to a limited liability company, even though a private one, was received with cautious optimism by participants and watchers of the oil industry. Reuben Abati, who is an ancestor of sorts in this writing business, wrote an extensive and incisive treatise on the birth of NNPCL. In an article, which was published in the Guardian on the birthday of NNPCL, he declared that ‘The new NNPC is expected to do things differently to attract investment, promote innovation, eliminate corruption and inefficiency, and ensure clarity. It must measure up like Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and Brazil’s Petrobras. Its business model must work for the country’s benefit. ‘He, however, went on to warn us not to jubilate so early because the NNPC still remains in the public sector. That is why it is still called Nigerian National… The only difference is that as a commercial entity, it will now have to pay more attention to its profit and cost centres. While there is a limit to which it can dictate price and profit, it must be noted that it can no longer do business as usual. He also recalled the sure-footed statements of Mele Kyari, the then GMD under whose tenure NNPC published its first P&L account, that (i) NNPC going forward is responsible to its shareholders as a limited liability company; (2) whatever service it provides for the Federal Government would be for a fee; (3) subsidy is not the responsibility of the NNPC but that of the Federal Government; and (iv) NNPC is committed to transparency and accountability and accounting rules (to be continued next week). Ik Muo, PhD, Department of Business Admin, OOU, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, 08033026625. The update highlights how stakeholders are adjusting to the latest conditions, while keeping focus on the key facts, figures, dates and named institutions already on record. Industry watchers say the implications will depend on implementation details and how quickly affected parties adapt.