Tinubu Approves $1.42bn, N5.57tn Debt Cancellation for NNPC

Tinubu Approves $1.42bn, N5.57tn Debt Cancellation for NNPC
The NUPRC added that $55,003,997.00 was recovered in the month under review
The debt relief comes amid revenue shortfalls recorded by the commission in 2025

President Bola Tinubu has approved the cancellation of a large portion of the outstanding debts owed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to the Federation Account, wiping off about $1.42bn and N5.57tn after a reconciliation of records between both parties.

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Eko Hot Blog reports that the approval is contained in a document prepared by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and presented at the November meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

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The report, titled “Report of October 2025 Revenue Collection Presented at the Federation Account Allocation Committee Meeting Held on 18th November 2025,” was obtained by The PUNCH on Sunday.

According to the NUPRC, debts earlier reported at the October 2025 FAAC meeting stood at $1,480,610,652.58 and N6,332,884,316,237.13, covering Production Sharing Contracts, Direct Sale Direct Purchase arrangements, Royalty and Miscellaneous Crude Account liftings, as well as Joint Venture and PSC royalty receivables.

However, the commission disclosed that the Presidency had approved that most of the balances be removed from the Federation’s books following the recommendations of the Stakeholder Alignment Committee on the Reconciliation of Indebtedness between NNPC Ltd and the Federation.

Tinubu Approves $1.42bn, N5.57tn Debt Cancellation for NNPC

The document stated that out of the reported figures, $1,421,727,723.00 and N5,573,895,769,388.45 were “nil off,” representing about 96 per cent of the dollar-denominated debt and about 88 per cent of the naira-denominated obligations.

“The commission has passed the appropriate accounting entries as approved,” the NUPRC confirmed, noting that the directive covers legacy liabilities up to December 31, 2024.

Despite the cancellation of the legacy debts, the regulator said fresh obligations accumulated in 2025 remain outstanding. Statutory liabilities arising between January and October 2025 were put at $56,808,752.32 and N1,021,550,672,578.87.

The NUPRC added that $55,003,997.00 was recovered in the month under review, leaving a balance of $1,804,755.32, while the naira-denominated liability remains unchanged.

The debt relief comes amid revenue shortfalls recorded by the commission in 2025. Data in the document showed that against an approved monthly revenue target of N1.204tn, the NUPRC collected N660.04bn in November, leaving a shortfall of N544.76bn.

Royalty collections also underperformed, with N605.26bn realised against a projection of N1.144tn.

Cumulatively, as of November 30, 2025, approved revenue stood at N13.25tn, while actual collections amounted to N7.60tn, creating a gap of N5.65tn.

The approval also comes against the backdrop of a long-running dispute between NNPC Ltd and Periscope Consulting, engaged by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to audit alleged under-remittance of $42.37bn.

While NNPC insists all revenues due to the Federation have been fully accounted for, Periscope maintains that significant gaps remain. FAAC has since directed both parties to conduct a joint reconciliation, a process that is still ongoing.