The Transparency Network and Public Interest Initiative has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his claim that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) ₦11.2 trillion in Federation receivables was connected to the financing of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
The group described the allegation as an attempt by Atiku, whom it characterised as continuing to pursue his longstanding presidential ambition, to link NNPCL’s finances to political activities.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the group’s spokesperson, Dr Ehizojie Emmanuel Anderson, said Abubakar could have avoided what he described as public embarrassment by reviewing NNPCL’s own financial disclosures before criticising the reforms being implemented under its Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari.
According to Anderson, the ₦11.2 trillion owed to NNPCL by the Federation represents advances and expenses incurred on behalf of the government, including costs associated with securing Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure. He said the amount accumulated over several years rather than arising from a single undisclosed transaction.
The group cited NNPCL’s reported expenditures on behalf of the Federation as follows:
– 2022: NNPCL reported spending ₦126 billion on behalf of the Federation.
– 2023: The company disclosed ₦3 trillion in such expenditures.
– 2024: NNPCL reported ₦5.7 trillion, describing the amount as advances to the Federation and security expenses incurred to protect oil and gas assets.
– 2025: The company disclosed ₦2.3 trillion, again identifying the amount as an advance to the Federation and security-related expenditure. It said the charge was incurred under an approved framework between the NNPC Group and the government.
The group said the figures for the four years amount to ₦11.2 trillion, comprising advances to the Federation and costs associated with securing the country’s oil and gas assets.
“These are not hidden campaign funds. They are recorded Federation obligations, disclosed by the company itself, accumulated over time, and tied to advances and the cost of protecting national oil and gas assets under an approved framework,” Dr Anderson said.
“A man who has read the report would not be asking Nigerians to treat a multi-year receivable as proof that NNPCL is bankrolling a political campaign.”
The Transparency Network also praised NNPCL under Ojulari for making the figures public and said the company’s reforms should be assessed based on available evidence rather than being incorporated into political campaign narratives.
Anderson further urged Abubakar to refrain from politicising NNPCL’s operations. He contrasted what he described as the former vice president’s previous preference for selling the national oil company to associates with the current management’s record, which he said has involved profitability and greater openness in the company’s financial reporting.
“The attack on the oil giant is unnecessary and unwarranted,” he said. “Nigerians are better served by a national oil company that publishes what it spends on behalf of the Federation than by a serial aspirant grasping at straws to keep a fading presidential ambition alive.”
