Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has vehemently called for an independent forensic audit of an alleged N17.5 trillion expenditure by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over a 12-month period. This staggering sum, reportedly spent on “securing fuel pipelines and others,” was described by Atiku as one of the most brazen financial scandals in Nigeria's history. He further demanded that the federal government publish the full list of companies awarded these contracts, disclose the scope, deliverables, and duration of each, and immediately halt any further disbursements until a thorough accountability process is established.

Atiku raised critical questions regarding the rationale behind such a massive outlay, urging the government to explain how this expenditure aligns with national priorities amidst what he termed an “unprecedented economic strangulation.” He drew a stark comparison, noting that Nigeria had previously spent approximately N18 trillion on fuel subsidy over 12 years, a national program that directly benefited millions of Nigerians by stabilizing the transport sector and keeping food prices manageable. In contrast, he argued, under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, the country has expended nearly the same amount in a single year on what he labels as “opaque pipeline security contracts awarded to private firms tied to associates and cronies of the President.”

Likening the administration's actions to “robbing Peter (Nigerians) to pay Paul (cronies),” Atiku asserted that this is not governance but rather “grand larceny dressed as public expenditure.” He reminded Nigerians that the Tinubu administration justified the removal of fuel subsidy by citing national unaffordability, asking citizens to endure hardship and make sacrifices. Yet, he pointed out, the same administration has ostensibly channeled N17.5 trillion, an amount that could profoundly transform Nigeria's power sector, rebuild its refineries, or fund universal healthcare, into non-transparent security contracts whose beneficiaries are conveniently linked to those in power.

The former vice president highlighted the current reality where a litre of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) now exceeds N1,000. While the Tinubu administration attributes this to the complete removal of subsidy, Atiku referenced NNPCL records showing significant expenditures under new terminologies, including N7.13 trillion spent on “energy-security cost to keep petrol prices stable” and N8.67 trillion on “under-recovery.” Atiku dismissed these as “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.”

He posed several direct questions to the administration:

• Who are the companies paid under these contracts?

• What specifically justifies a 38.7% rise in energy costs from N6.25 trillion in 2024 to N8.67 trillion 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 concluded by stating that no administration presiding over such fiscal recklessness possesses the moral authority to demand sacrifice from its people. He emphasized that the Nigerian public cannot continue to suffer crushing inflation, punitive fuel prices, an unending collapse of the naira, and widespread hunger, only for a select circle of political allies to pocket trillions under the guise of “pipeline security.” He accused the Tinubu administration of not ending subsidy but merely redirecting public wealth from the entire nation to a privileged cartel anchored around the Presidency.

He reiterated his demands for transparency and accountability, asserting that:
“This N17.5 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.”