The N17.5 trillion debt owed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) by the Nigerian government is a disguised fuel subsidy.

Chairman of Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics Ltd/GTE, Dele Oye, made the allegation in a statement, adding that Nigeria was currently operating the most expensive subsidy programme in its history, despite the government’s claimed removal of fuel subsidy.

The erstwhile President of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), added that the huge liability, accumulated through what NNPC described as “energy security expenses,” “under-recovery” and other receivables, represented a continuation of the subsidy regime under a different name.

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Oye, who is also the immediate past President of Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN), averred that the government’s 2023 announcement of fuel subsidy removal did not eliminate the financial burden but merely transformed it into an accounting arrangement that had placed additional pressure on public finances.

He said, “Nigeria is currently executing the most expensive subsidy programme in its history, yet almost no one is calling it by its true name.

“A N17.5 trillion liability has been accumulated in the shadows, hidden behind accounting terminologies designed to obscure rather than illuminate.

“This is not energy security; it is fiscal capture, the systematic transfer of public wealth through mechanisms that evade democratic oversight. The Petroleum Industry Act was designed to dismantle such opaque structures, not to be weaponised to legitimise them.

“Three years after the declaration that ‘subsidy is gone’, the burden has never been heavier. It has merely been rebranded. And that, tragically, is the most expensive word game in Nigerian history.”

He noted that the NNPC Ltd’s 2024 financial statements showed that the federation’s obligations to the company had risen to about N17.5 trillion, comprising energy security expenses, under-recovery claims, and other receivables.

Oye asserted that the development raised concerns over transparency, accountability, and the sustainability of Nigeria’s petroleum policy.

He stated, “On May 29, 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stood before the nation and declared, with theatrical finality: ‘Subsidy is gone.’ It was a bold proclamation, one that signalled a definitive break from decades of fiscal haemorrhage.

“Yet, three years later, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) released its 2024 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements, the numbers revealed a profoundly different reality.

“The subsidy did not vanish; it metamorphosed. Today, the federation owes NNPC a staggering N17.5 trillion, an exposure nearly double the N9.36 trillion recorded in 2023. The anatomy of this colossal liability is as stark as it is revealing: N7.13 trillion categorised as ‘Energy Security Expense’, N8.67 trillion labelled as ‘under-recovery” and N8.84 trillion grouped under ‘Other Receivables from the Federation’.

“NNPC’s auditors, PwC, SIAO, and Muhtari Dangana & Co., have certified these figures. The company proudly posted a record N5.4 trillion profit after tax in 2024, a 64 per cent surge from the previous year. Yet, this ‘profit’ was declared even as the company simultaneously booked nearly N18 trillion in debts owed by the very federation to which it is mandated to remit dividends.”

According to Oye, “NNPC insists this is not a subsidy. They call it ‘energy security.’ But as the late economist, Thomas Sowell, astutely observed: ‘It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.’

“In Nigeria’s case, the price is being paid by 220 million citizens, while the decision-makers engage in a deeply expensive exercise in linguistic gymnastics.”

He said the current arrangement had created a situation where government revenue was reduced through deductions from NNPC remittances while Nigerians continued to experience high petrol prices.

The alliance chairman further questioned the continued accumulation of the liability despite the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which was designed to promote transparency and commercial efficiency in the petroleum sector.

Oye also criticised the continued reliance on petrol imports, despite the commissioning of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP), describing it as a contradiction in Nigeria’s quest for energy independence.

He stated, “The narrative becomes truly surreal when we consider the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Commissioned to end Nigeria’s decades-long dependence on imported fuel and save precious foreign exchange, Africa’s largest refinery (with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day) should have rendered the ‘energy security expense’ entirely obsolete.

“Instead, Nigeria finds itself embroiled in a crisis over whether the Dangote Refinery should even be permitted to supply the domestic market effectively.”

He called for a comprehensive forensic audit of all energy security expenses and related claims, stating that Nigerians deserve clarity on the financial obligations being accumulated in their name.

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced three men to life imprisonment for their roles in the kidnapping of students and teachers from a school in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Justice Salim Ibrahim handed down the judgment on Thursday after the defendants—Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid, Yunusa Musa (alias Yunusa bin Musa), and Shamsu Adamu Sani (alias Abu Itisar)—pleaded guilty to some of the charges brought against them by the Federal Government.

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The trio was arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, concealment of information, incitement, and illegal mining.

During the proceedings, the defendants admitted to concealing information about the masterminds behind the school kidnapping.

They also confessed to being members of Darul Salam, which prosecutors identified as an affiliate of Jamaatu Asarul Muslima Fi Bilandis Sudan (Ansaru), a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria.

While all three defendants pleaded guilty to counts four and six, Umar additionally admitted guilt to counts seven, eight, nine and ten, which accused him of providing training and instructions to terrorists through a WhatsApp group titled “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace.”

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the remaining counts.

Following the guilty pleas, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants on the counts to which they had admitted guilt.

Justice Ibrahim subsequently sentenced the three men to life imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, the convicts, all from Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, conspired with other suspects between January and May 2026 to kidnap schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State, contrary to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The Federal Government further alleged that they aided the abduction, concealed information about the identities and activities of the alleged masterminds despite having prior knowledge of the plot, and admitted to belonging to a proscribed terrorist organisation.

The conviction marks another significant step in the Federal Government’s efforts to prosecute individuals linked to terrorism and school kidnappings across Nigeria.

The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has honoured former Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, for his enduring contributions to science, innovation and the development of The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation.

At a colloquium organised in his honour, the company highlighted Nnaji’s more than two decades of involvement in the growth, governance and international recognition of the Prize, describing him as one of its earliest advocates and a key figure in its evolution.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Adeleye Falade, represented by the General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall, said Nnaji had remained a pillar of the initiative since its inception in 2004.

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According to Horsfall, the renowned engineer and academic has provided intellectual leadership, strategic direction and sustained advocacy that have helped shape the Prize’s vision, strengthen its credibility and advance its role in promoting scientific innovation and national development.

She recalled that Nnaji delivered the keynote address at the inaugural Grand Award Night held in Abuja on October 9, 2004, where he spoke on “Leapfrogging Science and Technology in Nigeria.” She noted that the address reinforced the founding objective of the Prize and helped raise awareness of the initiative among scientists, policymakers and other stakeholders.