THE astonishing revelation that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited spent N17.5 trillion in a single financial year on fuel subsidies and pipeline security once again raises questions about the government’s declared abolition of fuel subsidies and the opaque financial management within Nigeria’s oil sector.

This massive expenditure not only outpaced Nigeria’s annual fuel subsidy records of past years but also surfaced amid sharply higher petrol prices for ordinary Nigerians. This contradiction demands urgent scrutiny and accountability.

Central to this anomaly is NNPC’s 2024 financial statement, which shows an unprecedented N17.5 trillion spent ostensibly on securing oil pipelines and energy security operations.

This outlay encompasses N7.13 trillion classified as energy-security costs aimed at stabilising petrol prices, plus N8.67 trillion related to “under-recovery” on refined petroleum products, which refers to the price gap between the regulated pump price and the higher actual import cost absorbed by NNPC.

Another N8.84 trillion is recorded as receivables for advances and security costs incurred, reinforcing the sheer scale of the company’s financial exposure.

Despite this massive operational cost, no clear government reimbursement plan has been outlined, placing tremendous strain on NNPC’s cash flow and raising concerns about long-term fiscal sustainability.

Indeed, the figures rubbish the NNPC’s N5.4 trillion profit declared for 2024, a 64 per cent rise over the N3.29 trillion posted in 2023.

This financial opacity that has defined NNPC’s operations for decades echoes concerns raised by analysts about endemic corruption, operational inefficiencies, and systemic leakages.

Industry watchers and experts have slammed this expenditure as outrageous, urging the government to commission a comprehensive forensic audit.

Given that Nigeria’s crude daily production is hovering at roughly 1.4 to 1.5 million barrels, well below its potential of at least 2.2mbpd recorded during the COVID pandemic, the justification for such exorbitant pipeline security and subsidy-related costs strains credulity.

It is bewildering how the NNPC managed to incur such a huge fuel subsidy cost when pump prices averaged N1,189/litre in December 2024, up 77 per cent from N761/litre a year earlier, while petrol landing cost was approximately N970 per litre for the same period, per the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria.

Even the fact that the naira closed at N1,535/dollar on December 31, 2024, after fluctuating widely for most of the year and suffering a 40.9 per cent depreciation overall, cannot explain these figures.

Finance Minister, Wale Edun’s Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan, presented in June 2024, projected fuel subsidy to gulp about N5.4 trillion in 2024 as against the N3.6 trillion budgeted for the same intervention in 2023. The NNPC’s figures show that the projections were overshot significantly.

The Petroleum Industry Act 2021 partially explains the government’s role in this quagmire.

The Federal Government has brought former Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, and Gloria Odita, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Maitama, Abuja, on charges related to alleged fraud, obtaining by false pretence, and criminal breach of trust.

Daily Voice reports that the charge sheet presented to Justice Hamza Muazu stated that in January 2014, Oduah and Odita allegedly conspired to obtain a total of ₦2,469,030,738.90 from the Federal Ministry of Aviation through Broad Waters Resources Nigeria Ltd and Global Offshore Marine Ltd under fraudulent claims.

The first count of the charge claims that the defendants agreed to secure the sum by falsely presenting it as payment for “Cost of Technical Supervision” and “Security Integrated and Logistics Support Services.”

The prosecution said the representation was false. This offence is linked to Sections 8(a) and 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act.

The second count alleged that on January 13, 2014, Oduah and Odita obtained N839,780,738.90 by claiming it was for “Cost of Technical Supervision.”

The third count stated that on February 12, 2014, the defendants obtained N1,629,250,000 from the ministry through Global Offshore Marine Ltd, claiming it was for “Security Integrated and Logistics Support Services,” which the prosecution said was false.

Counts four and five accuse Oduah, in her capacity as minister, of misappropriating funds meant for a contract awarded to 1-Sec Security Nigeria Ltd by authorising transfers that breached her official trust.

The charges reference Sections 311 and 315 of the Penal Code.

When the charges were read in court, both defendants pleaded not guilty to all five counts.

Their lawyers, Chief Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, for Oduah, and Wale Balogun, SAN, for Odita, applied for bail. Ikpeazu requested bail on self-recognition, saying that Oduah voluntarily returned from the United States to comply with court orders and had previously been on administrative bail with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The Attorney-General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, representing the prosecution, did not oppose the bail but asked the court to set a firm trial date, saying that the defendants had been served with the case since November 27, 2025.

Justice Muazu granted bail on self-recognition, ordering the defendants to deposit their international passports with the court.

The trial was adjourned to February 12 and 13, 2026, for commencement.

Paul Anderson’s politically charged One Battle After Another leads the Golden Globe nominations with nine, organizers announced Monday, as the race to the Oscars heats up.

Norwegian family dramedy Sentimental Value follows with eight nominations, while period horror Sinners received seven, and Shakespearean family drama Hamnet earned six.

Wicked: For Good garnered five nominations, a disappointing showing for the smash-hit musical, which failed to secure a nod for Best Musical/Comedy.

The Globes, set for January 11, are widely seen as a bellwether for the Academy Awards. The ceremony offers separate awards for dramas and comedies/musicals, widening the field of stars who could walk the red carpet and adding suspense to the awards season.

One Battle After Another, which centers on an ageing revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his teenage daughter (Chase Infiniti), leads the contenders in the comedy/musical categories.

The film is a rollicking ride featuring leftist radical violence, immigration raids, and white supremacists.

It received nominations for Best Comedy/Musical Picture, Best Director, and five acting nods for DiCaprio, Infiniti, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Teyana Taylor.

Sentimental Value, a moving story of a fractured family, earned nominations for Swedish legend Stellan Skarsgård and co-star Renate Reinsve. It is one of several foreign-language films gaining traction in the main categories, alongside Brazil’s The Secret Agent and South Korea’s No Other Choice.

Wicked: For Good, the blockbuster conclusion to the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, received nominations for Ariana Grande as the bubbly pink-clad Glinda, and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo as the green-skinned Elphaba. It also earned two nods for Best Original Song but missed the Best Picture shortlist.

Variety chief awards editor Clayton Davis predicted a “Murderers’ Row” of candidates for the Best Actress categories, and indeed, the women up for comedy/musical lead acting honors include Oscar winner Emma Stone (Bugonia), Erivo, Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Amanda Seyfried (The Testament of Ann L.), and newcomer Infiniti.

On the drama side, past Oscar winners Jennifer Lawrence (Die, My Love) and Julia Roberts (After the Hunt) will compete with Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Reinsve, Tessa Thompson (Hedda), and Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby). Each main category now has six nominees, up from five in previous years.

Beyond Sentimental Value, the top drama contenders delve into the past.

Sinners, from Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, stars Michael B. Jordan as twins in the criminal underworld who encounter a sinister force while returning home to racially segregated Mississippi in the 1930s. The film was a box-office success, and both Coogler and Jordan secured nominations. It led the Critics’ Choice Awards on Friday with 17 nods.

“It has so much going for it — it’s a big moneymaker, it was a culturally significant hit,” explained Davis.

Hamnet, from Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao, stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare, who tries to forge a career as a playwright while his wife Agnes, played by Buckley, contends with the perils of plague and childbirth in Elizabethan England. Both stars earned nominations, along with Zhao.

Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of Frankenstein earned five nominations, including one for Jacob Elordi as the iconic monster.

Oscar nominations are due on January 22, so the Golden Globes picks begin to map the road to the Academy Awards.

The Globes also honour the best in television, with HBO’s black comedy anthology The White Lotus, sci-fi office thriller Severance, and searing teen murder saga Adolescence leading the contenders.

Last year’s Globes gala, hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, drew more than 10 million viewers. Glaser will return as host of the January 11 gala in Beverly Hills.