December 29, 2025 | News | SUNTV Global Channel
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the clearance of massive legacy debts owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to the Federation Account, wiping off over ₦5.5 trillion and $1.4 billion accumulated before December 31, 2024.
The decision followed a comprehensive reconciliation exercise between NNPC Ltd and the Federation, coordinated by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and was formally presented at the November 2025 meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
SUNTV Global Channel reports that the approval was contained in a document titled “Report of October 2025 Revenue Collection Presented at the Federation Account Allocation Committee Meeting Held on November 18, 2025,” obtained from official sources.
What Was Cleared
According to the NUPRC, outstanding obligations previously recorded against NNPC Ltd stood at:
- $1.48 billion for Production Sharing Contracts (PSC), Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP), Royalty Adjustment (RA) and Modified Carry Arrangement (MCA) liftings
- ₦6.33 trillion for Joint Venture (JV) and PSC royalty receivables
Following the reconciliation, the Presidency approved the removal of most of these balances from the Federation Account.
The document stated:
“The Commission recently received Presidential Approval to nil off the outstanding obligations of NNPC Ltd as at 31st December 2024 as submitted by the Stakeholder Alignment Committee on the Reconciliation of Indebtedness between NNPC Ltd and the Federation.”
A detailed breakdown showed that the specific amounts written off include:
- $1.42 billion
- ₦5.57 trillion
NUPRC confirmed that all necessary accounting entries have already been effected in line with the presidential directive.
Basis for the Approval
The clearance was based on recommendations from the Stakeholder Alignment Committee, which was set up to resolve disputed figures and harmonise financial records between NNPC Ltd and the Federation up to the end of 2024.
The move effectively closes the chapter on long-standing, reconciled obligations that have weighed on public finance records for years.
Post-2024 Debts Remain
However, the regulator made it clear that the approval does not cover liabilities incurred after December 31, 2024.
For obligations accumulated between January and October 2025, NUPRC disclosed outstanding balances of:
- $56.8 million for PSC and MCA liftings
- ₦1.02 trillion for JV royalty receivables
Part of the dollar-denominated debt has already been recovered, with $55 million paid during the review period, leaving a balance of $1.8 million, while the naira-denominated obligations remain unchanged.
The recovered funds, the commission said, have been included in revenues shared by the Federation for the month.
What It Means
The presidential approval marks a major fiscal reset for NNPC Ltd, formally drawing a line under its reconciled pre-2025 obligations, while reinforcing continued oversight and recovery of newer liabilities under FAAC supervision.
SUNTV Global Channel will continue to monitor developments around NNPC’s financial obligations and their impact on national revenue distribution.
