The Federal Government has approved a transition period for the implementation of direct payments by oil contractors into the Federation Account, in line with the recent Executive Order 9 issued by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The move is aimed at enhancing the management of petroleum revenues and safeguarding public funds.
The decision was taken by the Implementation Committee for Executive Order 9 of 2026 during its inaugural meeting on February 26.
In a statement on Monday, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun, who also chairs the implementation committee, explained that the transition period would allow the new system to be introduced without disrupting existing contracts and financing arrangements within the oil sector.
The policy follows President Tinubu’s directive that petroleum revenues—including profit oil, royalty oil, and tax oil—be handled in a manner that protects public funds and strengthens the finances of all three tiers of government.
Edun noted that the committee agreed the shift to direct payments must be implemented carefully to maintain investor confidence while securing Nigeria’s revenue.
“With respect to Section 2, Sub-section 3 of Executive Order 9 on direct payments by contractors into the Federation Account, the Implementation Committee agreed that this transition must be implemented in a manner that respects existing contractual and financing arrangements and maintains investor confidence,” he said.
He added that the committee has therefore approved a defined transition period before the full operationalization of the new payment system. “For this reason, the Committee approved a defined transition period for the operationalization of direct payments by contractors of profit oil, royalty oil and tax oil into the Federation Account,” Edun said.
