The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) to provide a detailed account of billions of naira spent on pipeline surveillance and energy security.
This follows the release of the oil company’s audited 2024 financial statements.
In a statement posted on his X account on Tuesday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said figures contained in the audited accounts raised questions that deserved immediate public explanation.
According to the opposition party, the financial statements showed that NNPC Ltd. recorded N7.13tn under “Energy Security” for the 2024 financial year.
It added that when other fuel-related costs and receivables reflected in the accounts were considered, the total amount associated with the expenditure rose to about N17.5to.
The ADC argued that the size of the expenditure represented a sharp increase compared to previous years and warranted greater transparency from the government.
“Only a few years ago, Nigerians debated a pipeline surveillance contract worth about N48 billion. Today, the audited accounts record N7.13 trillion under ‘Energy Security’ for 2024. When other fuel-related costs and receivables reflected in the accounts are taken into consideration, the amount rises to about N17.5 trillion,” Abdullahi said.
The party maintained that while securing Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure remained a legitimate national responsibility, such spending should not be shielded from public scrutiny.
“Nigerians deserve to know what accounts for such an extraordinary escalation and, more importantly, what value the country has received in return. The bigger the bill, the stronger the obligation to explain it,” the statement read.
The ADC also referred to public reports identifying Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd., a company linked to Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, as a major beneficiary of pipeline surveillance contracts.
It noted that Ekpemupolo has recently emerged as a prominent mobiliser for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign, arguing that the development makes transparency over public spending even more important.
The party said Nigerians were entitled to know whether funds appropriated for pipeline surveillance were being used strictly to protect critical national infrastructure or whether the boundary between public expenditure and political activities had become blurred.
The opposition party consequently demanded a comprehensive breakdown of all pipeline surveillance and energy security spending since President Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
“Nigerians are entitled to know how much has been spent on pipeline surveillance and energy security since President Bola Tinubu came into office, who received the contracts, how much was paid, what results were achieved, and whether any independent value-for-money assessment was carried out,” Abdullahi stated.
According to the ADC, these were legitimate questions that should attract straightforward answers in a democratic society.
The party further argued that with many Nigerians facing rising costs of living, business closures and unemployment, citizens had every right to know whether the huge expenditure had translated into improved national security, economic productivity and better living conditions.
“If the answer is yes, the government should have no difficulty showing Nigerians the evidence,” the statement added.
The ADC therefore called on President Tinubu, the Board and Management of NNPC Ltd., as well as the relevant committees of the National Assembly, to immediately publish full details of the energy security expenditure.
“The question is no longer how much was spent,” the party said. “The question is what Nigeria has to show for it.”
