Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has sharply criticised the Federal Government following reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) spent N17.5 trillion in a single year on securing fuel pipelines. Atiku described the reported expenditure as unprecedented, alarming, and one of the most brazen financial scandals in Nigeria’s history.
In a statement issued by his media office on Sunday, the former Vice President compared the alleged figure to the nation’s total fuel subsidy expenditure over more than a decade. He noted that approximately N18 trillion was spent on subsidies over 12 years—an intervention that, according to him, provided direct relief to millions of Nigerians, stabilised transportation costs, and helped moderate food prices.
“For clarity, Nigeria spent roughly N18 trillion on fuel subsidy over a period of 12 years,” the statement read. “Yet, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the country has now expended nearly the same amount in a single year on the same subsidy and opaque pipeline security contracts awarded to private firms tied to associates and cronies of the President.”
Atiku argued that the Tinubu administration’s actions amounted to “robbing Peter (Nigerians) to pay Paul (cronies),” describing the development as “grand larceny dressed as public expenditure.”
He added that the government’s justification for removing fuel subsidy—what officials framed as a necessary sacrifice to stabilise the economy—now appears inconsistent with its own spending behaviour.
“Nigerians were told to tighten their belts, endure hardship, and ‘make sacrifices, ’” Atiku said. “However, the same administration has now channelled N17.5 trillion—an amount that could transform Nigeria’s power sector, rebuild our refineries, or fund universal healthcare—into opaque security contracts whose beneficiaries are conveniently linked to those in power.”
The Federal Government has yet to respond to the allegations publicly, and the reported figures have sparked renewed public debate over transparency, accountability, and fiscal priorities under the current administration.