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

A heated exchange has erupted between Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the media office of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar concerning the N12.8 trillion "Service-Wide Vote" included in the 2026 Appropriation Act. The controversy centers on the size, purpose, and transparency of this significant allocation.

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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 Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the African Democratic Congress, initiated the debate by calling on the National Assembly to conduct a thorough, line-by-line investigation of all allocations within the Service-Wide Vote, particularly the N2.19 trillion designated for personnel. His Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, stated that a government unable to account for trillions of naira loses its moral authority to ask citizens for sacrifices. Abubakar urged for full disclosure of beneficiaries, legal justifications, and expenditure frameworks for every naira allocated under this heading, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability in Nigeria's budgeting process.

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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.

In response, the APC, through its National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka, accused Abubakar of making unsubstantiated and mischievous allegations designed to mislead Nigerians and distract from the achievements of President Bola Tinubu's administration. The party described Abubakar's position as either "highly mischievous or a reflection of a disturbing lack of understanding of the basic principles of public finance." The APC asserted that Abubakar failed to provide any facts to support his claims, which they characterized as conjecture intended to inflame and mislead.

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either highly mischievous or a reflection of a disturbing lack of understanding of the basic principles of public finance.

The APC further explained that a Service-Wide Vote is a long-established budgetary mechanism used in virtually all major economies to cover government-wide obligations and unforeseen expenditures that arise after the annual budget is passed. They stressed that it is not a secret fund or an illegal slush account, as allegedly claimed by Abubakar. The party criticized Abubakar's past record in public office, suggesting his ambition to be president has led him to make baseless accusations.

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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.