Atiku’s aide queries Tinubu’s N17.5 trillion expenditure on pipeline security

By : Guardian Nigeria

Date: 1 December 2025 4:35am WAT

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Says President merely robbing Nigerians to pay cronies Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s aide, Paul Ibe, has said that the report that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) spent N17.5 trillion in just 12 months on “securing fuel pipelines and others” stands as one of the most brazen financial scandals in our nation’s history.

He said that for clarity, Nigeria spent roughly N18 trillion on fuel subsidy over a period of 12 years — a national programme that directly cushioned millions of Nigerians, stabilised the transport sector, and helped keep food prices manageable.

However, Ibe on his X social media platform said that under President Bola Tinubu, the country has now expended nearly the same amount in a single year on same subsidy and opaque pipeline security contracts awarded to private firms tied to associates and cronies of the President, saying that the action of the President is akin to robbing Peter (Nigerians) to pay Paul (cronies).

“This is not governance. This is grand larceny dressed as public expenditure,” he said.

He said that the action raises fundamental questions of public trust and national integrity, which include which are the firms paid under these contracts, what specifically justifies a 38.7 per cent rise in the amount of energy-cost 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? among others.

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