{"id":9702,"date":"2025-12-01T07:50:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T07:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/?p=9702"},"modified":"2025-12-01T09:27:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T09:27:08","slug":"atiku-questions-tinubu-%e2%82%a617-5trn-spending-on-pipeline-security-in-12-months-to-presidency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beadysword.com.ng\/blog\/2025\/12\/01\/atiku-questions-tinubu-%e2%82%a617-5trn-spending-on-pipeline-security-in-12-months-to-presidency\/","title":{"rendered":"Atiku Questions Tinubu \u20a617.5trn Spending on Pipeline Security In 12 Months"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Bola Tinubu administration following reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) spent \u20a617.5 trillion in just one year on securing fuel pipelines, <\/strong>the spending He described as \u201cunprecedented and alarming.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement released by the Atiku Media Office on Sunday, Atiku called the revelation \u201cone of the most brazen financial scandals in our nation\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement drew a comparison between the alleged pipeline security expenditure and Nigeria\u2019s fuel subsidy, which cost the country approximately \u20a618 trillion over 12 years. Atiku pointed out that the fuel subsidy, a national program, helped cushion millions of Nigerians, stabilise the transport sector, and keep food prices manageable.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFor clarity, Nigeria spent roughly \u20a618 trillion on fuel subsidy over a period of twelve years \u2014 a national programme that directly cushioned millions of Nigerians, stabilised the transport sector, and helped keep food prices manageable.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet, 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, 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,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

Atiku also questioned the administration\u2019s justification for the removal of the fuel subsidy, stating, \u201cNigerians were told to tighten their belts, endure hardship, and \u2018make sacrifices.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cHowever, the same administration has now channelled \u20a617.5 trillion \u2014 an amount that could transform Nigeria\u2019s power sector, rebuild our refineries, or fund universal healthcare \u2014 into opaque security contracts whose beneficiaries are conveniently linked to those in power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atiku also highlighted the reported spending under various government categories, stating, \u201cAccording to records from the NNPCL, this administration has spent \u20a67.13 trillion on what it calls \u2018energy-security costs to maintain stable petrol prices,\u2019 and another \u20a68.67 trillion on what it terms \u2018under-recovery.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement further read, \u201cThese two balablu nomenclatures: energy-cost and under-recovery are a new coinage of the Tinubu administration to deceive Nigerians on the government\u2019s fraudulent claim that it was no longer paying subsidies on petroleum products.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis raises fundamental questions of public trust and national integrity:<\/p>\n

*Who are the companies paid under these contracts?<\/p>\n

*What specifically justifies a 38.7 percent rise in the amount of energy cost from N6.25tn in 2024 to N8.67tn in 2025?<\/p>\n

*Why is pipeline security now more expensive than a decade-long subsidy that served over 200 million Nigerians?<\/p>\n

*Where are the audit reports, parliamentary oversight findings, and cost-validation documents?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo 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 \u2014 only for a select circle of political allies to pocket trillions under the guise of \u201cpipeline security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis scandal confirms what Nigerians already know: the Tinubu administration did not end subsidy \u2014 it merely redirected public wealth from the entire nation to a privileged cartel anchored around the Presidency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government must, without delay:<\/p>\n

1. Publish the full list of companies awarded these contracts.<\/p>\n

2. Disclose the scope, deliverables, and duration of each contract;<\/p>\n

3. Subject the entire \u20a617.5 trillion expenditure to an independent forensic audit;<\/p>\n

4. Halt further disbursement until accountability is established.<\/p>\n

5. Explain to Nigerians how this expenditure aligns with national priorities at a time of unprecedented economic strangulation.<\/p>\n

\u201cNigerians deserve transparency, not deceit. They deserve leadership, not cronyism. And they deserve a government that places national interest above private enrichment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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