In the Wake of the ₦17.5 Trillion Pipeline Security Scandal
The revelation that NNPC Ltd.’s audited financial statements reportedly show a staggering ₦17.5 trillion spent in one 0 on pipeline protection, energy-security costs and under-recovery has triggered widespread outrage and deep concern among Nigerians.
This amount is over five times the entire national security budget (₦3.25 trillion for Defence, Police, NSA and intelligence services), yet insecurity continues to worsen nationwide.
Kidnappings surge. Terror attacks multiply. Farmers abandon their fields.
Children remain out of school.
Food insecurity deepens.
And citizens are asked to pay ₦1,000–₦1,200 for a litre of PMS.
The scandal raises a fundamental moral question:
How can Nigeria justify spending trillions on pipelines while millions of its citizens remain unprotected, uneducated and hungry?
It is against this backdrop that I have submitted a Public Petition & Citizens’ Advisory Note to the National Assembly through Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations.
KEY DEMANDS TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
- Immediate Investigation of the ₦17.5 Trillion Pipeline Expenditure
Freeze all similar opaque budget lines in the 2026 Appropriation Bill until a transparent parliamentary probe is conducted.
- Re-Prioritise the 2026 Budget Around SEA: Security, Education & Agriculture
No budget can claim to be pro-people unless it significantly prioritises SEA:
Security: Invest in equipment, intelligence, mobility and welfare — not just personnel costs.
Education: Raise allocation to at least 12% in 2026, with a roadmap to 15–20% by 2030.
Agriculture: Move towards the Maputo 10% benchmark, starting with 7% in 2026.
- Protect the Protectors
Provide enhanced salaries, insurance and post-service support for armed forces, police, intelligence and civil defence personnel.
- National Out-of-School Children Rescue Plan
Commit to bringing 5 million children back to school between 2026 and 2028 with strong community, religious and state partnerships.
- Food Security as National Security
Strengthen the Bank of Agriculture, support agro-industrial processing zones, and tie youth empowerment to farming and food-chain participation.
- Ring-Fence Subsidy Savings for SEA
At least 50% of net subsidy savings in 2026 should be legally dedicated to SEA programmes, with quarterly public reporting.
WHY SEA IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD
Nigeria cannot survive or prosper while:
insecurity overwhelms communities,
over 20 million children roam out of school,
food scarcity pushes over 35 million Nigerians toward hunger, and
trillions vanish into opaque “pipeline protection”.
SEA — Security, Education, Agriculture — is not a slogan.
It is a survival blueprint.
A MESSAGE TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
The 2026 budget must answer three simple questions:
- Are Nigerians safer?
- Are more children in school and learning?
- Are Nigerians feeding themselves with dignity?
If the answer is “No,” then the budget has failed — no matter the macro numbers.
This is the time for the National Assembly to show leadership:
Stop shielding scandals.
Start funding classrooms, farms and security.
Rebuild trust by protecting human lives above pipeline profits.
Let 2026 be remembered as the year Nigeria reordered her priorities and reclaimed her future.
Issued by:
Citizen Bolaji O. Akinyemi
Apostle & Nation Builder
For media enquiries & interviews: +2348033041236 bolajioakinyemi.comiap
