Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged President Bola Tinubu to refrain from pointing to inherited liabilities from former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration regarding the state of the nation’s energy sector. Instead, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate demanded a detailed, transparent accounting of the trillions of naira committed to state-owned petroleum processing facilities since the current government took office. ​
The reaction follows a media release issued on Sunday, August 16, 2026, in Abuja by Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu. In the statement, the opposition leader described the administration’s defensive stance as a form of political evasion, insisting that the executive branch must take responsibility for its own financial stewardship rather than deflecting blame to past leadership. ​
Financial figures highlighted in the release showed that the combined financial obligations of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited climbed from roughly ₦4.52 trillion at the close of 2023 to ₦8.67 trillion by the end of 2024. This escalation represents a sharp increase of about ₦4.15 trillion within a single year under President Tinubu’s watch. ​
Addressing these figures, Phrank Shaibu pointed out the sharp contradiction between official claims and real-world outcomes. He noted that while the federal government previously celebrated the resumption of operations at the Port Harcourt facility at a touted 70 percent capacity in November 2024 as a landmark achievement of its economic agenda, officials are now attempting to distance themselves following admissions from state oil leadership that the refineries continue to run at significant financial losses.
​The statement further emphasized the massive opportunity cost of such heavy public spending, stressing that an additional four trillion naira in obligations could have significantly reshaped public tertiary institutions, modernized underfunded public hospitals, repaired hazardous transport corridors, and expanded basic utility access to unserved communities.
Calling the situation an unacceptable breach of public trust, Atiku reiterated his long-standing position that sinking taxpayer funds into repeated repair schemes for dilapidated state assets is economically unsound, renewing his call for full financial disclosure and a shift toward privatized, market-driven management.
