Abuja 23 November 2025
Former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has launched a blistering attack on the Federal Government, alleging that the quiet appointment of Xpress Payments Solutions Limited as a new collecting agent for the Treasury Single Account (TSA) represents a deliberate attempt to “nationalise” the controversial revenue-collection model associated with President Bola Tinubu’s tenure in Lagos State.
In a strongly worded statement posted on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday, Mr Abubakar described the move as “a dangerous resurrection of the Alpha Beta revenue cartel” that he claims dominated Lagos State during and after Mr Tinubu’s governorship. Alpha Beta, a private firm long accused by critics of operating as a politically connected monopoly on tax collection in Lagos, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and insists its operations were transparent and contractual.
Mr Abubakar argued that appointing Xpress Payments without public consultation or National Assembly oversight amounts to “state capture masquerading as digital innovation” and turns Nigeria “from a republic to a private holding company controlled by a small circle of vested interests.”
The former vice president further condemned the timing of the appointment, which he said was “smuggled into the public space” while the nation mourns victims of escalating insecurity. “When a nation is grieving, leadership should show empathy and focus on securing lives, not on expanding private revenue pipelines,” he wrote.
Among the questions Mr Abubakar raised are:
- Why the appointment was rushed without stakeholder engagement or legislative scrutiny;
- What unique value Xpress Payments brings that existing TSA channels do not already provide;
- Who the ultimate beneficiaries are — the Nigerian people or “an entrenched political network”.
He insisted that Nigeria “does not need more middlemen between citizens and their government revenue” and called for greater transparency, stronger institutions, and a tax system “free from political capture”.
Mr Abubakar demanded the following immediate actions:
- Suspension of Xpress Payments’ appointment pending a public inquiry;
- Full disclosure of contractual terms, beneficiaries, fee structures, and selection criteria;
- A comprehensive audit of all TSA operations;
- Legislation to prohibit private proxies in core government revenue systems;
- A refocusing of national priorities on security rather than “governance conducted in the shadows”.
“Nigeria’s revenues are not political spoils,” Mr Abubakar concluded. “They are the lifeblood of our national survival, especially at a time when insecurity is tearing communities apart.”
As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency and the Ministry of Finance had not issued any official response to Mr Abubakar’s allegations. Critics of the Tinubu administration have in the past raised similar concerns about the influence of Lagos-era associates in federal appointments, while supporters argue that private-sector involvement can enhance efficiency in revenue collection.
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