Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, has defended Executive Order 9, EO9, insisting that the directive is firmly grounded in constitutional provisions and does not amount to executive lawmaking.
In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, Yakubu dismissed commentaries suggesting that EO9 represents executive overreach, describing such claims as a misinterpretation of both the Constitution and the fiscal issues at stake.
According to him, the Order does not create new laws but rather enforces existing constitutional provisions governing the custody and management of Federation revenues.
He cited Section 80(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandates that all revenues or monies raised or received by the Federation must be paid into and form one Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
He stressed that public revenue cannot lawfully be retained, applied, or warehoused outside constitutionally recognised funds.
Yakubu further referenced Section 162 of the Constitution, which requires that revenues accruing to the Federation be paid into the Federation Account for distribution in line with constitutional allocation principles.
He maintained that the constitutional sequence is clear: revenues must first be paid into recognised accounts before they can be appropriated, shared, or spent.
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Executive Order 9, he explained, operationalises these constitutional provisions within the oil and gas sector by directing the direct remittance of petroleum revenues —- including royalties, taxes, profit oil and gas, penalties, and related receipts – into constitutionally recognised accounts.
The Order also strengthens reconciliation, transparency, and reporting mechanisms across revenue collection and custody processes.
The Budget Office boss emphasised that EO9 does not intrude into legislative competence.
He noted that Section 60(1) of the Constitution preserves the procedural autonomy of the National Assembly, adding that the Order neither regulates legislative procedure nor amends the Petroleum Industry Act.
Instead, he said, it is an executive instrument issued pursuant to Section 5 of the Constitution to ensure faithful execution of existing laws.
Yakubu who is also the Secretary of the Implementation Committee on Executive Order 9 added that any dispute over the constitutional validity of EO9 should be resolved by the judiciary, which remains the proper forum for such determinations.
Until any judicial pronouncement is made, he said, the Executive remains duty-bound to safeguard Federation revenues, uphold constitutional supremacy, and strengthen fiscal integrity to support Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC distributions, budget credibility, and macroeconomic stability.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
