Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticized the Bola Tinubu administration following reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) spent ₦17.5 trillion in just one year on securing fuel pipelines.

He described the spending as “unprecedented and alarming.”

In a statement released by the Atiku Media Office on Sunday, Atiku called the revelation “one of the most brazen financial scandals in our nation’s history.”

The statement drew a comparison between the alleged pipeline security expenditure and Nigeria’s fuel subsidy, which cost the country approximately ₦18 trillion over a 12-year period. Atiku pointed out that the fuel subsidy, a national program, helped cushion millions of Nigerians, stabilize the transport sector, and keep food prices manageable.

“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). This is not governance. This is grand larceny dressed as public expenditure,” the statement said.