Tinubu clears NNPC’s pre-2025 ₦5.5trn, $1.4bn debts

President Bola Tinubu has approved the clearance of long-standing debts owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to the Federation Account, effectively removing legacy obligations accumulated up to December 31, 2024 from government records.

The directive followed a detailed reconciliation exercise between NNPC Ltd and the Federation, conducted by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

The findings were presented at the November meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and contained in the report titled “Report of October 2025 Revenue Collection Presented at the Federation Account Allocation Committee Meeting Held on November 18, 2025”, obtained by The PUNCH.

According to the report, debts previously recorded at the October 2025 FAAC meeting totaled $1.48 billion and ₦6.33 trillion, covering PSC, DSDP, RA & MCA liftings, and JV & PSC royalty receivables.

Following the reconciliation, the Presidency approved the removal of $1.42 billion and ₦5.57 trillion of these obligations from the Federation Account.

The NUPRC said the clearance was based on recommendations from the Stakeholder Alignment Committee, which reconciled disputed figures between NNPC Ltd and the Federation.

The directive only applied to debts up to December 31, 2024, while obligations incurred after that date remain subject to recovery.

For liabilities arising between January and October 2025, the report indicated that $56.8 million and ₦1.02 trillion were still outstanding.

The commission noted that part of the dollar-denominated obligations—$55 million—had been recovered, leaving a balance of $1.8 million and ₦1.02 trillion under ongoing FAAC scrutiny.

The NUPRC confirmed that the accounting entries for the cleared pre-2025 balances have been fully implemented, formally closing NNPC Ltd’s reconciled obligations up to the end of 2024, while newer debts continue to be monitored and recovered.