Atiku to Tinubu: Account for N11.2trn owed NNPCL

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has demanded a full breakdown of the N11.2 trillion reportedly owed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) by the Federal Government, alongside disclosure of government contractors’ contributions to President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign.

In a statement by the Director of Strategic Communication, ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said Nigerians deserved to know how much of the claims related to pipeline protection, who received the payments and what services were delivered.

“NNPC’s 2024 accounts recorded roughly N17.5 trillion across different claims on the Federation, including petrol under-recovery and other receivables linked to advances and asset protection. Its 2025 accounts now show approximately N11.2 trillion in other receivables from the Federation.

“Nigerians cannot tell from these totals what was spent on pipeline surveillance. What was paid? Who was paid? For what work? Where are the results?” he asked.

Atiku said the demand for answers extended beyond NNPCL’s accounts to the relationship between government contractors and the President’s bid for a second term.

He argued that the scale of the oil-sector claims, set against funding for national defence and persistent insecurity, raised questions about the administration’s priorities.

“The scale of this imbalance is indefensible. In 2025, the Ministry of Defence received about N3.1 trillion, while NNPC recorded N11.2 trillion in other receivables from the Federation—more than three times the defence allocation.

“These figures belong to different accounting categories, but their contrast is stark: under Tinubu, sums tied to the oil sector dwarf the resources allocated to defend the country. That is a damning measure of this administration’s priorities,” he stated.

The ADC candidate said families confronting insecurity deserved clear explanations of public expenditure rather than aggregate figures that did not reveal the purpose and outcome of payments.

“A mother should not have to pray her child survives the journey to school while her government cannot plainly explain the billions it spends on security. Tinubu must answer to the people living with these choices.

“Think of the soldier sent to confront terrorists. Think of the parent waiting outside a school after hearing that bandits have struck. Think of the family unable to reach a loved one on the highway. They deserve more than one vast figure in NNPC’s accounts.

“Why can this government explain the need to protect a pipeline, but struggle to assure Nigerians that their own lives will be protected?” he asked.

Atiku also questioned the relationship between prominent government contractors and Tinubu’s re-election effort, citing Tantita’s pipeline security contract and the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway contract awarded to the Chagourys’ company.

“Look at the company Tinubu keeps. Tantita holds a pipeline security contract while its founder sends campaign vehicles out to seek another term for the President. The Chagourys’ company holds the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway contract, awarded without an open public tender.

“Tinubu’s government says it used restricted bidding. Then show us the invitations. Show us the competing bids. Show us the evaluation. Show us the contract. Why must Nigerians drag every document out of a government spending their money?” he said.

Referring to footage he said showed the Minister of Works greeting a Chagoury as “my chairman,” Atiku declared: “A minister’s chairman should be the Nigerian people.”

He demanded disclosure of payments to the contractors and any financial or material support they had provided for the President’s campaign.

“Tinubu must disclose what these contractors have received from the government and whether they have given a naira, a vehicle or any other support to his re-election.

“Nigerians will not tighten their belts while the President’s associates collect contracts and the money behind his campaign remains hidden,” he stated.

Atiku maintained that an administration asking families to make sacrifices must account for public funds, arguing that its claims of progress did not reflect Nigerians’ daily experiences.

“The roads are bad. The economy is bad. There is no light. There is no safety. Families are hungry. Yet Tinubu calls this progress. Nigerians are struggling to buy food, praying for electricity and afraid to travel.

“Nigerians have had enough of hardship dressed up as reform. Tinubu made life expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again. Let this be the last year he asks Nigerians to suffer and applaud. In 2027, we will bring this chapter to an end,” he said.

The former vice president also criticised Tinubu’s remarks on returning from a four-week stay in Europe, which the Presidency described as a “working vacation.”

“Rather than empathise with Nigerians over worsening socioeconomic conditions, Tinubu returned after his four-week stay in Europe … and declared: ‘I enjoyed myself. Fantastic.’ Asked about his health, he added: ‘Ready to kick, ready to walk.’

“These tone-deaf remarks once again exposed his yawning distance from the existential realities Nigerians face,” Atiku stated.

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