Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government over reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited spent N17.5 trillion in a single year on securing fuel pipelines, describing the development as unprecedented and alarming.

Atiku made the remarks on Sunday in a statement from his media office, stressing that the revelation stands as one of the most brazen financial scandals in the nation’s history.

The statement compared the alleged spending to Nigeria’s fuel subsidy expenditure over more than a decade, saying: ”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.”

According to the statement, the Tinubu administration had channelled almost the same amount in a single year into opaque security contracts.

“Yet, 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.

“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 added.

The ex-Vice President also questioned the Tinubu administration’s justification for subsidy removal.

”Nigerians were told to tighten their belts, endure hardship, and ‘make sacrifices.’

“However, the same administration has now channelled N17.5 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,” he stated.