This troubling aversion and distaste for adherence to the provisions and stipulations of the Nigerian constitution not only portrays the president in a bad light but also reflects poorly on the nation. A nation cannot be governed by the whims and impulses of one man.
Last week, the presidency announced that President Bola Tinubu ratified the cancellation of outstanding debts owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to the Federation Account. The news — even though it somewhat flew under the radar of topical issues of national significance and did not get the kind of traction and attention you would expect a report of that magnitude to get, owing to its attendant illegality — has unsettled many keen followers of happenings in the nation and those aware of Nigeria’s fiscal and macroeconomic challenges.
According to official documents presented to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), the presidential approval will see the cancellation of legacy debts previously reported as outstanding, including those arising from production sharing contracts, domestic supply obligations, royalty receivables, and other legacy balances which then effectively expunged from the Federation Account books of approximately $1.42 billion (USD) and N5.57 trillion (NGN) in legacy NNPC debt following a reconciliation of records with regulators. This directive covers outstanding liabilities accumulated up to 31 December 2024.
The cancellation of this debt, for which no tangible or material benefit to the people or the nation can be cited, is coming at a time when the government is pressing ahead with the implementation of the new controversial tax law. For many, it is a head-scratching phenomenon that the president, instead of launching a probe into how these debts are incurred and investigating the malfeasance and large-scale financial impropriety that made its impossible for the NNPC to meet its obligation to the Federation, decided albeit legally and, some will say, unsurprisingly, to write off these debts and shield those responsible for the vicious and ruthless mismanagement of the nation’s resources from prosecution.
It is particularly disconcerting and troubling that nearly 96 per cent of the dollar-denominated legacy obligations and 88 per cent of the naira-denominated legacy balances were cancelled by fiat without legislative or parliamentary assent or a clear constitutional mandate given the fact that these debts were owed to the Federation, which includes states and local governments, and not just the federal government. Also, citing “reconciliation” as the reason for this write-off does not quite answer the real question of illegality and brazen violation of the nation’s constitution. This justification cannot Trump and supersede constitutional provisions for revenue sharing and allocation as it effectively removes longstanding liabilities from public accounts, which in turn reduces the revenue base legally and constitutionally accruable to States and Local Governments.
The decision to unilaterally cancel NNPC debts owed to the Federation is the latest in the slew of illegal and unconstitutional moves that have come to define Tinubu’s administration. If he is not illegally removing a sitting governor, then he is ordering the bombing of a neighbouring country with national assembly approval. Tinubu, since taking over more than two years ago, has wilfully and flagrantly violated the constitution without an iota of compunction or remorse. This troubling aversion and distaste for adherence to the provisions and stipulations of the Nigerian constitution not only portrays the president in a bad light but also reflects poorly on the nation. A nation cannot be governed by the whims and impulses of one man.
Even more unnerving is how characters in other arms of government, particularly the national assembly, have not only condoned and overlooked his overbearing and despotic dispositions, but are active participants in these egregious and abhorrent assaults on the Constitution which should ordinarily be sufficient grounds to commence impeachment proceedings.
As a nation guided by democratic precepts and laws, the President cannot disregard the provisions of the Constitution and scoff at what it protects. The Federation Account belongs to all tiers of government, and the Federal Executive or the President lacks the power to unilaterally decide how it should be operated.
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