THIS DAWN — Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of presiding over what he describes as one of the most staggering financial scandals in Nigeria’s history.
Alhaji Abubakar’s accusation followed revelations that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) spent ₦17.5 trillion in just 12 months on pipeline security and related expenditures.
The amount nearly equals the ₦18 trillion Nigeria spent on fuel subsidy across twelve years.
In a strongly worded statement from his media office, Atiku said the amount exposes the Tinubu administration’s “grand deception”.
He insisted that it raises major questions about transparency, accountability, and alleged cronyism at the highest levels of government.
Fuel subsidy re-channelled
According to the former Vice President, the Tinubu-led government insisted that fuel subsidy had to be removed because the country could no longer sustain it.
He also urged citizens to endure hardship and make sacrifices.
Yet, he said, the administration has now channelled ₦17.5 trillion into opaque security and subsidy-related payments that largely benefit private interests close to the Presidency.
“At a time when Nigerians can barely afford transport and food, with PMS selling for over ₦1,000 per litre in some states, this administration secretly spent ₦7.13 trillion on so-called ‘energy-security cost’ and another ₦8.67 trillion on ‘under-recovery’ — both new terminologies designed to mask the continuation of subsidy,” Atiku said.
He argued that the spending pattern confirms that the government did not end fuel subsidy but merely rebranded and redirected it to a privileged cartel.
Pipeline security more expensive than fuel subsidy
The development, he added, shows that pipeline security has now become inexplicably more expensive than a decade-long subsidy that served over 200 million Nigerians.
Atiku posed several questions demanding urgent answers:
- Who are the companies benefitting from these massive payments?
- Why did the energy-security allocation jump by 38.7% within one year?
- Where are the audit reports, parliamentary oversight records, and cost-validation documents?
He warned that no administration guilty of such “fiscal recklessness” has the moral right to demand sacrifice from citizens suffering relentless inflation, a collapsing currency, and widespread hunger.
The Atiku Media Office called for immediate actions, including:
- the publication of all beneficiary companies,
- disclosure of contract details,
- an independent forensic audit of the entire ₦17.5 trillion expenditure,
- suspension of further disbursements, and,
- an explanation of how the spending aligns with national priorities.
Atiku concluded that the scandal is not just a financial anomaly but “a moral indictment and a clarion call for full accountability.”
