Atiku Demands Independent Probe Of N17.5tn For Pipeline Security

Former vice president Atiku Abubakar has called for an independent forensic audit of N17.5 trillion for the securing fuel pipelines and other related issues.

The former vice president, who described the figure as one of the most brazen financial scandals in the nation’s history, also called on the federal government to publish the full list of companies awarded these contracts.

Atiku, in a statement, also said the scope, deliverables, and duration of each contract should be disclosed just as further disbursement must be halted until accountability is established.
He also charged the governor to explain to Nigerians how this expenditure aligns with national priorities at a time of unprecedented economic strangulation.

The former vice president was reacting to a report that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) spent N17.5 trillion in just 12 months on “securing fuel pipelines and others.”

Reacting, the former vice president, while questioning the figure, said Nigeria spent roughly N18 trillion on fuel subsidy over a period of 12 years in a national programme that directly cushioned millions of Nigerians, stabilised the transport sector, and helped keep food prices manageable.

He however said under President Bola 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.

Likening the president’s action to robbing Peter (Nigerians) to pay Paul (cronies), Atiku noted that it is not governance but a 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.” 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 further raised some posers for the Tinubu administration: “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?”

The former vice president said no administration that presides over this level of fiscal recklessness has the moral authority to demand sacrifice from its people.

He added 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.”

“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.

“The 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 deserve transparency, not deceit, adding that leadership isn’t about cronyism.

He stressed that Nigerians deserve a government that places national interest above private enrichment.

“This ₦17.5 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,” he said.