Atiku: Tinubu’s ₦17.5trn Spent on Pipeline Security More Than 12 Yrs of Fuel Subsidy

*Say he robbed Nigerians to pay cronies

*Declares two balablu nomenclatures: energy-cost and under-recovery, coined to deceive Nigerians

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has queried the N17.5 trillion spent on pipeline security by the President Bola Tinubu administration, stating that it was more than the twelve years of subsidy put together.

He, however, accused the president of robbing Nigerians to pay his cronies.

In a statement by his media office, Atiku said the report that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) spent a humongous ₦17.5 trillion in just 12 months on “securing fuel pipelines and others” stood as one of the most brazen financial scandals in our nation’s history.

”For clarity, Nigeria spent roughly ₦18 trillion on fuel subsidy over a period of twelve years — a national programme that directly cushioned millions of Nigerians, stabilised the transport sector, and helped keep food prices manageable.

”Yet, under President Bola Ahmed 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. Indeed, the action of the President is akin to robbing Peter (Nigerians) to pay Paul  (cronies),” he said.

The former vice-president maintained that this was not governance, instead, he said, ”This is grand larceny dressed as public expenditure.

”The Tinubu administration justified the removal of fuel subsidy by claiming the country could no longer afford it. Nigerians were told to tighten their belts, endure hardship, and ‘make sacrifices’.

”However, the same administration has now channelled ₦17.5 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.

”In some places in the country, a litre of PMS goes for over N1,000 and the justification for this by the Tinubu administration is the wholesome removal of subsidy.

“Yet, according to the records provided by the NNPCL, this same administration has spentN7.13tn on what it calls, ‘energy-security cost to keep petrol prices stable’; another N8.67tn on what it calls ‘under-recovery’,” Atiku stated.

According to the former president, ”These two balablu nomenclatures: energy-cost and under-recovery are a 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 said it raised fundamental questions of public trust and national integrity, asking: ”Who are the companies paid under these contracts? What specifically justifies a 38.7 percent rise in the amount of energy-cost from N6.25tn in 2024 to N8.67tn 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?

”No administration that presides over this level of fiscal recklessness has the moral authority to demand sacrifice from its people. 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’.

“This scandal confirms what Nigerians already know: the Tinubu administration did not end subsidy — it merely redirected public wealth from the entire nation to a privileged cartel anchored around the Presidency.”

Atiku asked that the federal government must, without delay” Publish the full list of companies awarded these contracts; disclose the scope, deliverables, and duration of each contract.

”Subject the entire ₦17.5 trillion expenditure to an independent forensic audit. Halt further disbursement until accountability is established;

”Explain to Nigerians how this expenditure aligns with national priorities at a time of unprecedented economic strangulation.”

He said Nigerians deserved transparency, not deceit, insisting that they deserved leadership, not cronyism and that they deserved a government that placed national interest above private enrichment.

Atiku contended that the ₦17.5 trillion pipeline-security expenditure as not merely a financial anomaly as it was a moral indictment on the Tinubu administration and a clarion call for full accountability.