President Bola Tinubu is accused by 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential contender Atiku Abubakar of forcibly seizing control of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) finances.
According to Atiku, Tinubu extorted money from NNPCL and sent it to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Ministry of Finance.
He stated in a post on X that Tinubu’s move is morally and legally illegitimate because it goes against the due process rights.
Quoting the former Vice President: “By this order, Mr. President has wrested control of the finances of the NNPCL and donated the same to the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“This is an unprecedented act, without any legal or ethical basis. It is also a violation of the principle of due process in public administration.
“State-owned enterprises are not subject to such arbitrary orders and have full control over their finances within the confines of their respective establishment laws.
“The NNPCL is a creation of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (PIA), which was signed into law by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 16 August 2021.
“The PIA makes extensive provisions for the formation, structure, governance, and operation of the NNPCL as an independent limited liability company in Sections 53 to 65 of the Act.
“The government must, therefore, respect the provisions of the law and allow the NNPCL to run as an independent company based on sound commercial objectives and in line with international best practices and standard principles of corporate governance.”