2026 budget: Atiku, APC trade words over N12.8tn allocation

By Frontline Reporters

The controversy surrounding the N12.8 trillion Service-Wide Vote (SWV) captured in the 2026 Appropriation Act intensified on Wednesday as the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the media office of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar engaged in a war of words over the size, purpose and transparency of the allocation.

While the APC dismissed Atiku’s criticism as politically motivated and reflective of a poor understanding of public finance management, the former Vice President’s camp challenged the Federal Government to provide a comprehensive breakdown of the expenditure and justify the unprecedented increase in the provision.

The dispute erupted after Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), called on the National Assembly to rise above partisan considerations and conduct a thorough, line-by-line investigation of all allocations under the Service-Wide Vote, particularly the N2.19 trillion earmarked for personnel costs.

In a statement issued Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President urged lawmakers to demand full disclosure of the beneficiaries, legal basis and expenditure framework guiding every allocation under the controversial budget heading.

“A government that cannot account for how trillions of naira are being spent has lost the moral standing to ask its citizens to make sacrifices,” Atiku stated.

“The time has come to open the books, reveal the facts and restore transparency and accountability to Nigeria’s budgeting process. Nigerians deserve nothing less.”

However, the APC, in a swift rebuttal signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, accused Atiku of peddling unfounded allegations intended to mislead Nigerians and undermine the achievements of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Describing Atiku’s comments as “either highly mischievous or a reflection of a disturbing lack of understanding of the basic principles of public finance,” the ruling party insisted that the Service-Wide Vote remains a globally accepted budgetary mechanism.

“Beyond the headline allegation, Atiku did not advance any facts to substantiate his sensational claim, which is based purely on conjecture and calculated to inflame, mislead and distract Nigerians from the visible and steady progress recorded under President Tinubu’s administration,” Morka said.

He explained that the Service-Wide Vote is a long-established fiscal instrument designed to accommodate government-wide obligations and unforeseen expenditures arising after the passage of annual budgets.

“A Service-Wide Vote is not a secret fund or an illegal slush account, as Atiku has baselessly and recklessly alleged. Similar contingency arrangements exist in virtually all major economies and democracies around the world,” the APC spokesman added.

The party further took aim at Atiku’s political career, accusing him of attempting to discredit the Tinubu administration despite what it described as his “long-standing ambition” to occupy the presidency.

“The ghost of his sordid past haunts Atiku. Ironically, a man whose reputation as a public servant is mired in some of Nigeria’s darkest episodes of corruption and profligacy now seeks to lecture Nigerians on fiscal responsibility and budget transparency,” the statement read.

The APC maintained that the Federal Government has demonstrated fiscal discipline through initiatives such as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the new national minimum wage, the Consumer Credit Scheme, the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative, and sustained investments in infrastructure, healthcare and agriculture under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

According to the party, “The APC and its administration remain focused on rebuilding the economy, deepening institutional reforms, expanding public infrastructure and improving living standards for all Nigerians.”

But Atiku’s media office, in a counter-statement issued Wednesday and signed by his Strategic Media Associate, Olusola Sanni, insisted that the APC had failed to address the central issue—the dramatic rise in the Service-Wide Vote from N638.34 billion in 2024 to more than N12.8 trillion in 2026.

“It is remarkable that in his lengthy treatise, Mr. Morka failed to answer the central question: What emergency or unforeseen expenditure justifies increasing the Service-Wide Vote from N638.34 billion in 2024 to over N12.8 trillion in 2026?” the statement queried.

According to Atiku’s camp, the increase represents an estimated 1,918 per cent surge within two years and warrants detailed public explanation.

“No one disputes the existence of a Service-Wide Vote as a recognised budgetary instrument. What Nigerians are questioning is the size, opacity and possible abuse of the provision under the Tinubu administration,” the statement added.

The media office further alleged that portions of the allocation were tied to projects lacking adequate details, warning that insufficient disclosure could erode public confidence in the nation’s budgeting process.

“A contingency fund without specificity, accountability or transparency ceases to be a contingency provision and becomes precisely what Nigerians fear—a slush fund waiting to be abused,” it stated.

Atiku’s media team also accused the APC-led administration of failing to satisfactorily address previous concerns over alleged irregularities in budgetary allocations, including claims of duplicated provisions and vague project descriptions.

Maintaining that scrutiny of public expenditure is a constitutional responsibility of opposition parties and citizens alike, Sanni declared that Nigerians deserve answers rather than political rhetoric.

“The APC may continue to hurl insults, but insults cannot substitute for accountability. Calling names will not explain a 1,918 per cent increase. Propaganda will not account for trillions of taxpayers’ money,” he said.

The former Vice President’s media office subsequently called on the Federal Government to publish a detailed breakdown of the N12.8 trillion allocation, including the projects involved, implementing agencies, beneficiaries and the legal framework guiding each expenditure.

The 2026 Appropriation Act has continued to attract intense scrutiny from opposition leaders, civil society organisations and fiscal policy analysts, many of whom have renewed calls for greater transparency, accountability and public oversight in Nigeria’s budgeting process.