A press release issued on November 23, 2025 in Yola and signed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who served from 1999 to 2007, has called on the Federal Government to “come clean with Nigerians” over the recent appointment of Xpress Payments Solutions Limited as a new Treasury Single Account (TSA) collecting agent.
In the statement, Atiku described the move as “a dangerous resurrection of the Alpha Beta revenue cartel that dominated Lagos State during and after the Tinubu years.” He said the model “created a private toll gate around public revenue and funnelled state funds into the hands of a politically connected monopoly.” According to him, the appointment represents “the attempt to nationalise that same template, moving Nigeria from a republic to a private holding company controlled by a small circle of vested interests.”
He added that introducing such a policy “in the middle of a national tragedy, while Nigerians are mourning loved ones lost to the deepening insecurity crisis, is not only insensitive, it is a deliberate act of governance by stealth.” Atiku questioned the process, asking, “Why was this appointment rushed and smuggled into the public space without consultation, stakeholder engagement, or National Assembly oversight? What value does Xpress Payments add that existing TSA channels do not already provide? Who truly benefits from this? Nigeria or an entrenched political network?”
“This is not reform. This is state capture masquerading as digital innovation,” the former vice president warned. He asserted, “Nigeria does not need more middlemen between citizens and their government revenue. What we need is greater transparency, stronger institutions, and a tax system free from political capture.”
Atiku called for several actions: the immediate suspension of the Xpress Payments appointment pending a public inquiry; full disclosure of the contractual terms, beneficiaries, fee structures and selection criteria; a comprehensive audit of TSA operations to prevent the creeping privatisation of revenue collection; a legal framework that prohibits the insertion of private proxies into core government revenue systems; and a national security priority shift, recognising that a country under assault cannot afford economic governance conducted in the shadows.
He concluded, “Nigeria’s revenues are not political spoils. They are the lifeblood of our national survival, especially at a time when insecurity is tearing communities apart. The government must abandon this Lagos‑style revenue cartelisation and return to the path of transparency, constitutionalism, and public accountability.”
The release was dated Yola, November 23, 2025, and signed by Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria.
