ABUJA — The Federal Government has approved a major policy shift to cut down the share of revenue retained by Nigeria’s top revenue-generating agencies, in a bid to curb wasteful spending and free up funds for national development.
The decision was reached on Wednesday at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the review is aimed at boosting public savings, promoting fiscal discipline, and unlocking resources to accelerate economic growth.
Among the agencies affected are the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Edun revealed that the president specifically ordered a reassessment of NNPC’s 30 percent management fee and 30 percent frontier exploration deduction as stipulated under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The move comes on the heels of a recent directive barring ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) from awarding capital contracts without prior warrant authority to incur expenditure — a measure aimed at tightening control over public funds.
The development also follows concerns raised last year by Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi over the federal government’s growing backlog of unpaid contractors.
With the new policy, the Tinubu administration is signaling a stronger grip on fiscal management while seeking to channel more revenue directly into the Federation Account for national priorities.
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