Atiku faults N17.5trn pipeline security spending, says Tinubu govt ‘redirecting subsidy to cronies’

Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, has taken aim at the Bola Tinubu administration over revelations that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) spent ₦17.5 trillion in one year on pipeline protection and energy security, describing the figure as outrageous and unprecedented.

In a statement from his media office on Sunday, the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate said the amount nearly matches Nigeria’s ₦18 trillion cumulative fuel subsidy bill between 2006 and 2018, a period of more than a decade.

“At no time has this country witnessed this scale of financial haemorrhage,” Atiku said. “Nigeria spent roughly ₦18 trillion on subsidy over twelve years – a policy that directly supported transport, stabilised prices, and cushioned the masses. But the Tinubu administration has funnelled an almost identical amount into questionable pipeline security contracts in just one fiscal year.”

He described the reported expenditure as “grand looting masquerading as governance,” accusing the Presidency of funnelling public wealth to private actors close to power.

The former Vice President also criticised what he called the government’s inconsistent messaging on subsidy removal. Despite declaring subsidy gone in May 2023, Atiku said NNPCL’s records reveal that the administration spent ₦7.13 trillion on energy-security costs and another ₦8.67 trillion on under-recovery – two terms he said were crafted to conceal ongoing subsidy payments.

“These are simply new names for the same thing,” he said. “The administration told Nigerians that subsidy had ended, yet it is quietly paying trillions to keep petrol prices from spiralling. Unfortunately, these payments now appear to enrich a select few rather than benefit the public.”

Atiku questioned why pipeline protection – a service he said should not consume more than a fraction of national expenditure – now rivals the cost of running critical sectors like power, health, and infrastructure.

He demanded answers on which firms were paid, what services they delivered, and why the spending is projected to rise by nearly 40 per cent in 2025. He also questioned why the National Assembly had not launched a full investigation into the financial disclosures.

“No serious government can ask its citizens to tighten their belts while billions of dollars vanish into unverified contracts,” he said.

According to Atiku, the ₦17.5 trillion spending shows that “subsidy was never removed, it was merely transferred to a political cartel.”

He called for an immediate halt to further payments, publication of all beneficiary companies, and an independent forensic audit to establish the extent of the expenditure.

“At a time when Nigerians are crushed by inflation, high fuel prices and hunger, this level of recklessness is inexcusable,” he said. “Transparency is not optional; it is the minimum requirement of governance.”