The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) reportedly spent ₦17.5 trillion in just 12 months on “pipeline security and related costs,” a figure that now rivals the total fuel subsidy expenditure of the past twelve years.
“For perspective, Nigeria spent roughly ₦18 trillion on fuel subsidy over 12 years — a programme that directly cushioned millions of Nigerians, stabilised transport, and helped keep food prices manageable,” the Atiku Media Office said in a statement.
Continuing, the statement said yet, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, nearly the same amount was allegedly channelled in a single year into opaque contracts for pipeline security, reportedly awarded to private firms tied to associates and cronies of the Presidency.
“This is not governance. This is grand larceny dressed as public expenditure,” the statement read. “The administration has robbed Peter (Nigerians) to pay Paul (cronies).”
The statement posted on Sunday by Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe noted that the Tinubu administration justified the removal of fuel subsidy by claiming the country could no longer afford it. Nigerians were told to tighten their belts, endure hardship, and “make sacrifices.” Yet, according to NNPCL records, the administration spent ₦7.13 trillion on ‘energy-security costs’ to keep petrol prices stable and ₦8.67 trillion on ‘under-recovery’, a dramatic increase from ₦6.25 trillion in 2024.
“These terms — energy-cost and under-recovery — are a deliberate obfuscation to deceive Nigerians about the government’s claim that it was no longer paying fuel subsidies,” the statement added.
The Atiku Media Office posed critical questions to the government:
- Who are the companies benefiting from these contracts?
- What justifies a 38.7% increase in energy costs in a single year?
- Why is pipeline security now more expensive than a decade-long subsidy that supported over 200 million Nigerians?
- Where are the audit reports, parliamentary oversight findings, and cost-validation documents?
“No administration presiding over such fiscal recklessness has the moral authority to demand sacrifice from its citizens,” the statement declared. “While Nigerians endure crushing inflation, punitive fuel prices, a collapsing naira, and widespread hunger, a select circle of political allies pockets trillions under the guise of ‘pipeline security.’”
The statement further accused the Tinubu administration of misleading the public. “The government did not end subsidy. It merely redirected public wealth from the entire nation to a privileged cartel anchored around the Presidency,” it said.
The Atiku Media Office issued a five-point demand for immediate accountability:
- Publish the full list of companies awarded these contracts.
- Disclose the scope, deliverables, and duration of each contract.
- Subject the ₦17.5 trillion expenditure to an independent forensic audit.
- Halt further disbursements until accountability is established.
- Explain how this expenditure aligns with national priorities amid the current economic crisis.
“Nigerians deserve transparency, not deceit. They deserve leadership, not cronyism. And they deserve a government that prioritises national interest over private enrichment,” the statement concluded.
This ₦17.5 trillion pipeline-security expenditure, nearly equivalent to 12 years of fuel subsidy in a single year, is described by the Atiku Media Office as one of the most audacious financial controversies in Nigeria’s history, prompting urgent calls for parliamentary oversight and independent scrutiny.
