Explain how your government spent over ₦17.5tn on pipeline security in one year – Atiku tells Tinubu

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Bola Tinubu administration over reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited spent ₦17.5 trillion in one year on securing fuel pipelines.

He described the development as unprecedented and alarming.

In a statement issued by his Media Office on Sunday, he said the revelation “stands as one of the most brazen financial scandals in our nation’s history.”

The statement compared the alleged spending to Nigeria’s fuel subsidy expenditure over more than a decade, saying, ”For clarity, Nigeria spent roughly ₦18 trillion on fuel subsidy over a period of 12 years, a national programme that directly cushioned millions of Nigerians, stabilised the transport sector, and helped keep food prices manageable.”

It argued that the Tinubu government had channelled almost the same amount in a single year into opaque security contracts.

“Yet, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the country has now expended nearly the same amount in a single year on same subsidy and opaque pipeline security contracts awarded to private firms tied to associates and cronies of the President.

“Indeed, the action of the President is akin to robbing Peter (Nigerians) to pay Paul (cronies). This is not governance. This is grand larceny dressed as public expenditure,” the statement said.

Atiku also questioned the administration’s justification for subsidy removal, stating, ”Nigerians were told to tighten their belts, endure hardship, and ‘make sacrifices.’

“However, the same administration has now channelled ₦17.5 trillion, an amount that could transform Nigeria’s power sector, rebuild our refineries, or fund universal healthcare, into opaque security contracts whose beneficiaries are conveniently linked to those in power.”

On reported spending under categories labelled by government, it noted, ”According to the records provided by the NNPCL, this same administration has spent N7.13tn on what it calls ‘energy-security cost to keep petrol prices stable’; another N8.67tn on what it calls ‘under-recovery.’

“These two balablu nomenclatures: energy-cost and under-recovery are a new coinage of the Tinubu administration to deceive Nigerians on the government’s fraudulent claim that it was no longer paying subsidies on petroleum products.”

It further listed issues requiring public scrutiny, asking, ”Who are the companies paid under these contracts? What specifically justifies a 38.7 percent rise in the amount of energy-cost from N6.25tn in 2024 to N8.67tn in 2025?

“Why is pipeline security now more expensive than a decade-long subsidy that served over 200 million Nigerians? Where are the audit reports, parliamentary oversight findings, and cost-validation documents?”

Atiku also argued that no administration that presides over this level of fiscal recklessness has the moral authority to demand sacrifice from its people.

Atiku demanded an immediate forensic audit and full disclosure of all companies involved, saying the government must “publish the full list of companies awarded these contracts; disclose the scope, deliverables, and duration of each contract; subject the entire ₦17.5 trillion expenditure to an independent forensic audit; halt further disbursement until accountability is established; [and] explain to Nigerians how this expenditure aligns with national priorities at a time of unprecedented economic strangulation.”

Atiku also described the alleged spending as a severe moral breach, saying, “This ₦17.5 trillion pipeline-security expenditure is not merely a financial anomaly, it is a moral indictment on the Tinubu administration and a clarion call for full accountability.”

It was reported that the federation racked up a staggering N17.5tn as debt owed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited for pipeline protection and energy security operations the oil giant undertook on behalf of the nation in the financial year ended 2024.

The disclosure underscores growing pressure on NNPC’s balance sheet, as the company continues to operate with the expectation of reimbursement from the government.

It also raises a question about President Bola Tinubu’s May 29, 2023 announcement that “fuel subsidy is gone,” a statement that was expected to mark a decisive end to decades of costly subsidy spending but which now appears at odds with emerging figures showing continued government support for petrol pricing.