Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on the federal government to give a clear account of how N17.5 trillion was spent on pipeline security within one year.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited reportedly used N17.5 trillion for securing pipelines in 2024, as stated in its audited financial records.
In a Sunday statement released by his media aide, Abubakar urged the government to reveal the full list of companies that received the contracts.
“Explain to Nigerians how this expenditure aligns with national priorities at a time of unprecedented economic strangulation,” he said.
He also requested that authorities “disclose the scope, deliverables, and duration of each contract” and ensure that the entire ₦17.5 trillion be subjected to an independent forensic audit.
Abubakar insisted that further payments should be suspended until a transparent review is carried out.
He described the spending on “securing fuel pipelines and others” as one of the most alarming financial cases the country has seen.
According to him, Nigeria spent around ₦18 trillion on fuel subsidy over 12 years — a programme that directly benefitted citizens — yet the same administration has allegedly spent an almost equal amount in one year on subsidy and vague pipeline protection contracts linked to private companies and associates of the President.
He likened the situation to “robbing Peter (Nigerians) to pay Paul (cronies)” and said, “This is not governance. This is grand larceny dressed as public expenditure.”
Abubakar argued that even after petrol subsidy removal, which pushed pump prices to as high as N1,000 per litre in some regions, the government still spent N7.13tn on ‘energy-security cost’ and N8.67tn on “under-recovery” — terms he described as misleading.
“These two balablu nomenclatures: energy-cost and under-recovery are a new coinage of the Tinubu administration to deceive Nigerians,” he said, maintaining that the subsidy was not removed but “redirected to a privileged cartel around the Presidency”.