2026 BUDGET: ATIKU, APC TRADE WORDS OVER N12.8TN ALLOCATION

The controversy over the N12.8tn Service-Wide Vote contained in the 2026 Appropriation Act deepened on Wednesday as the All Progressives Congress and the media office of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar traded accusations over the size, purpose and transparency of the allocation.

The APC dismissed Atiku’s concerns over the provision as mischievous and borne out of ignorance of basic public finance principles, while the former Vice-President’s media office challenged the Federal Government to explain the sharp increase in the allocation and publish details of how the funds would be spent.

The controversy began after Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, called on the National Assembly to set aside partisan interests and conduct an exhaustive, line-by-line investigation of all allocations under the Service-Wide Vote, particularly the N2.19tn personnel provision.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku urged the parliament to demand full disclosure of the beneficiaries, legal justification and expenditure framework for every naira allocated under the heading.

He said, “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.

“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.”

Reacting in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the APC accused Atiku of making an unsubstantiated allegation designed to mislead Nigerians and divert attention from what it described as the achievements of the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The party described the former Vice-President’s position as “either highly mischievous or a reflection of a disturbing lack of understanding of the basic principles of public finance.”

It said, “Beyond the headline allegation, Atiku did not advance any facts to verify 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.

“You would think that a former Vice President, a man with the longest-standing ambition to be president of Nigeria, would understand the concept and instrument of a Service-Wide Vote, an elementary principle of public finance.

“A Service-Wide Vote is a long-established and widely used budgetary mechanism designed to cater for government-wide obligations and unforeseen expenditures that arise after the annual budget has been passed.

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

The APC also criticised Atiku’s record in public office and accused him of attempting to discredit the Tinubu administration.

It added, “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 mindless corruption and profligacy attempts to smear a high-achieving administration and lecture Nigerians on matters of fiscal responsibility and budgetary transparency.

“Atiku is only seeking to ascribe to others out of the overflowing store of misdeeds in his long and wasteful years in government.

“As a serial presidential contestant, Atiku has never once articulated a clear vision or coherent plan for Nigeria’s development but has remained a petty peddler of fake news and doomsday narratives.

“Spewing baseless and inflammatory allegations without justification is utterly irresponsible and unbecoming of a former Vice President.”

The party said the Federal Government had demonstrated fiscal responsibility through various programmes and interventions, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the new national minimum wage, the Consumer Credit Scheme and the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative.

It also cited investments in infrastructure, healthcare and agriculture, as well as tax reforms and other programmes under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

The APC said, “The APC and its administration remain focused on realising the Renewed Hope Agenda, rebuilding the country’s economy, deepening institutional reforms, expanding public infrastructure, and improving living conditions for all Nigerians.”

However, Atiku’s media office, in a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by his Strategic Media Associate, Olusola Sanni, challenged the APC to address what it described as the central issue: the increase in the Service-Wide Vote from N638.34bn in 2024 to more than N12.8tn in 2026.

The statement was issued in response to Morka’s criticism of Atiku’s concerns.

It said, “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 N638.34bn in 2024 to over N12.8tn in 2026?”

The media office said the increase represented an estimated 1,918 per cent rise within two years, arguing that such growth required detailed justification beyond describing the provision as a contingency arrangement.

It acknowledged that Service-Wide Votes were recognised components of government budgeting but questioned the size and level of disclosure surrounding the allocation under the Tinubu administration.

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

The former Vice-President’s media office further alleged that some portions of the allocation were linked to projects that lacked sufficient details, arguing that inadequate disclosure could undermine public confidence in the budgeting process.

It added, “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.”

The media office also accused the APC-led administration of failing to adequately address previous concerns over alleged irregularities in budgetary allocations, including claims of duplicated provisions and unclear project descriptions.

It maintained that raising questions about public expenditure was part of the responsibility of opposition parties and concerned citizens.

“Nigerians are not interested in political insults. They want answers,” the statement read.

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

The media office called on the Federal Government to publish details of the allocation, including the projects covered, beneficiaries, implementing agencies and the legal basis for each expenditure.

The 2026 budget has continued to attract scrutiny from opposition figures, civil society organisations and fiscal analysts, who have called for greater disclosure of public spending to strengthen accountability and public confidence in government finances.