ABUJA, Nigeria — Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has asked President Bola Tinubu’s administration to publish details behind ₦11.2 trillion recorded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited as receivables from the Federation, including costs associated with protecting Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate for the 2027 election, also called for disclosure of any financial or material support that major federal contractors have provided to Tinubu’s re-election effort.
His demands were contained in a statement issued on Sunday, October 4, 2026, by Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council.
The questions centre on NNPC’s recently published 2025 audited financial statements, which record approximately ₦11.2 trillion under “other receivables from Federation”.
Those accounts do not show that ₦11.2 trillion was newly spent on pipeline security in 2025. Rather, the figure represents a broader accounting balance covering advances to the Federation and costs incurred in protecting oil and gas assets, including outstanding amounts carried in NNPC’s books.
Atiku Seeks Breakdown of Security Costs
Atiku said the accounts did not provide enough information for the public to determine how much of the receivable related specifically to pipeline surveillance, which contractors received payments, or what services were delivered.
“What was paid? Who was paid? Where are the results?” he asked.
He called for the publication of contracts, payment schedules, procurement records, and performance information relating to the protection of petroleum infrastructure.
The NNPC investor portal lists the company’s 2025 audited financial statements and shows profit after tax of ₦7.2 trillion, operating cash flow of ₦12.8 trillion, and a ₦5.8 trillion dividend for the year.
The audited accounts describe the ₦11.2 trillion as amounts owed to NNPC by the Federation for advances and costs incurred on its behalf.
₦11.2 Trillion Is Not Entirely New 2025 Spending
The distinction is significant.
NNPC’s accounts show that its energy-security cost receivable stood at about ₦8.67 trillion at the end of 2025, while other advances and receivables brought the broader amount owed by the Federation to roughly ₦11.2 trillion.
The company said it recognised no new energy-security expense in 2025.
Instead, it reconciled outstanding security-cost receivables against royalties, taxes, and dividends owed to the government, completing that reconciliation in September 2025.
That means the ₦11.2 trillion cannot accurately be described simply as money newly paid to pipeline-security contractors during the year.
Atiku’s demand is therefore for a more detailed breakdown of what sits behind the receivable and, specifically, how much relates to security contracts and pipeline surveillance.
NNPC said in announcing its 2025 results that profit after tax rose by 33 per cent to ₦7.2 trillion, while crude production increased and the company declared a ₦5.8 trillion dividend.
Tompolo’s Campaign Support Draws Attention
Atiku also questioned the relationship between federal contractors and organisations supporting Tinubu’s campaign.
He cited Government Ekpemupolo, widely known as Tompolo, whose Tantita Security Services is involved in protecting oil infrastructure and who has publicly supported a grassroots movement campaigning for Tinubu’s re-election.
In September, Tompolo donated 34 vehicles to the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement in Katsina State, with vehicles presented to coordinators across the state’s local government areas.
Later that month, 50 vehicles were donated for the movement’s activities in Kano State, according to reports of the campaign programme.
The movement has since expanded activities to other states, including Yobe and Taraba.
Those donations are public political activity.
There is no evidence presented in Atiku’s statement establishing that government contract payments were used to finance the campaign vehicles or that NNPC funds were diverted for political purposes.
Atiku nevertheless said the administration should disclose whether federal contractors or their principals had provided money, vehicles, or other support to Tinubu’s campaign and identify what those contractors had received from the government.
Lagos-Calabar Highway Also Raised
Atiku also returned to questions surrounding Hitech Construction Company and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
Hitech is handling major sections of the project and is associated with the Chagoury business family, whose relationship with Tinubu has previously attracted political scrutiny.
Atiku has repeatedly questioned why the initial section of the highway was not subjected to an open competitive tender.
Works Minister David Umahi has said the government used restrictive procurement for the first section because it sought a contractor with specialised experience and sufficient concrete-paving equipment.
Umahi said the procurement was submitted to the Bureau of Public Procurement and the Federal Executive Council and maintained that the method complied with the Public Procurement Act.
He has also said later sections were opened to selective competitive bidding, which Hitech won.
On Sunday, Umahi again rejected suggestions that Tinubu directed him to award the project to Hitech, saying he personally took responsibility for the procurement decision.
Atiku is asking for the underlying procurement records to be made public, including invitations, competing bids, evaluations, contracts, and payments.
Campaign Financing Becomes Part of 2027 Debate
Atiku’s statement joins a broader political dispute over government contracting, public finances, and campaign funding ahead of the 2027 election.
The former vice president argued that contractors doing substantial business with the federal government should be subject to greater scrutiny if they or their principals are simultaneously supporting the president’s campaign.
No evidence has been produced showing that Tinubu’s campaign has received unlawful contributions from Tantita, Hitech, the Chagoury family, or any other contractor named in Atiku’s statement.
Atiku’s demand is for disclosure that would allow the public to determine whether such support exists and, if it does, its nature and value.
As of publication, no substantive response to the latest demands had been publicly issued by the Presidency, NNPC, Tantita Security Services, or the Chagoury Group.
NNPC’s published accounts establish the ₦11.2 trillion receivable, while the unresolved question raised by Atiku is how the underlying advances and security-related costs are divided among programmes, contracts, and beneficiaries.
