The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) disclosed last week that it has been engaged in the payment of oil subsidy to the tune of over N7.1 trillion on what it coyly termed “energy security expenses.” The statement presented this suspicious transaction thus: “In line with Section 64(M) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, the cost [was] incurred by NNPC Limited (Group) as the energy supplier of last resort for energy security reasons, and all associated costs shall be on the account of the Federation… The under-recovery is essentially the difference between the actual landing cost of the product and the regulated price. This balance is used to reduce the cost of sales of the Group. The corresponding entry is either used to reduce the liability due to the Federation or used as a receivable from the Federation.”
The euphemism – energy security expenses – carefully crafted to mask the reality of fuel subsidy payments – is not just misleading—it is an affront to transparency in public finance. Nigerians were told that subsidies had been removed, yet the nation’s coffers continue to haemorrhage trillions under a rebranded label. By cloaking subsidies in the language of “security,” NNPCL attempts to sanitise an economic absurdity that drains resources while citizens grapple with soaring fuel prices and inflation. Such semantic gymnastics erode public trust and raise troubling questions.
In 2023, Nigerians were jolted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s announcement of the removal of the petroleum subsidy—a policy shift that instantly reshaped daily life. At the time, subsidy payments were estimated at around N4.3 trillion, already a staggering figure, but far less than the N7 trillion NNPCL now claims to have spent under the guise of “energy security expenses.” The shock was felt in the rising cost of food, transportation, and necessities. Inflation soared to record highs, eroding the purchasing power of households and pushing effective public transportation further out of reach. For millions, commuting became a daily struggle, while the absence of affordable alternatives deepened hardship. The World Bank estimated that as many as 63 per cent of Nigerians were thrust into poverty, underscoring the devastating social impact. Against this backdrop, NNPC’s continued subsidy spending appears contradictory.
The NNPCL has become the country’s greatest drain. Instead of harnessing oil wealth to build prosperity, it has presided over a colossal waste of resources. Over the past decade, between 2013 and 2019, more than $25 billion (N11 trillion) has been sunk into the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s four refineries—Port Harcourt, Warri, Kaduna, and the smaller plant at Port Harcourt (two units). Yet, despite this staggering investment, none of these refineries operates effectively today. They remain monuments of dysfunction, forcing Nigeria to continue importing refined petroleum products.
However, the absurdity deepens under the current atmosphere where the Dangote Refinery, a privately built 650,000 barrels-per-day facility, has come on stream. Instead of patronising Dangote’s refinery to reduce import dependence, NNPCL continues to claim importation of refined products and, astonishingly, still insists on spending trillions under the guise of subsidies. This dual fraud—pretending to remove subsidies while secretly sustaining them and pouring billions into dead refineries while ignoring a functioning local alternative—reveals a systemic betrayal of public trust.
The National Assembly must rise to its constitutional duty and probe the murky financial practices of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The recent revelations of trillions spent on subsidies disguised as “energy security expenses,” coupled with auditors’ reports of N210 trillion in audit queries for transactions between 2017 and 2023, cannot be swept under the carpet. Such staggering figures point to systemic mismanagement and deliberate obfuscation in the handling of Nigeria’s most critical resource.
A thorough investigation is not optional—it is imperative. Nigerians deserve clarity on how trillions vanish while poverty deepens and infrastructure crumbles. The legislature must demand full disclosure of subsidy payments, refinery rehabilitation costs, and all other expenditures flagged by auditors. Anything less would amount to complicity in fraud. It is also necessary in order to restore accountability, safeguard public resources, and ensure that oil wealth serves the people rather than a few entrenched interests.
Nigerians have endured untold hardship since the removal of the petroleum subsidy in 2023. The policy was sold as a necessary sacrifice to stabilise the economy, yet it immediately unleashed inflationary shocks that devastated households. Food prices skyrocketed, transportation costs became unbearable, and millions slipped further into poverty. Against this backdrop of suffering, the revelation is that NNPCL has continued to invoke the concept of subsidy.
Nigerians do not need a subsidy for petrol, which they already pay for heavily through exorbitant pump prices. What we desperately need are subsidies for transportation, agriculture and food production, healthcare and medicines, and housing—sectors that directly ease daily burdens and foster development. To persist with fraudulent fuel subsidy payments is to perpetuate waste and deepen distrust. This deception must stop. The nation’s scarce resources should be redirected to genuine social support, not siphoned off under the guise of a subsidy that no longer exists in practice.