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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Your claim on Service-Wide Vote baseless, APC tells Atiku

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The All Progressives Congress (APC) dismissed Atiku Abubakar's claim that the 2026 Service-Wide Vote funds President Tinubu's re-election.
  • The APC called the allegation mischievous and ignorant of public finance principles, demanding evidence from Abubakar.
  • The party explained the Service-Wide Vote is a standard budgetary mechanism for unforeseen expenditures, not a slush fund.

Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly refuted allegations made by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar concerning the 2026 Service-Wide Vote (SWV). Abubakar had claimed the budget line was earmarked to fund President Bola Tinubu's 2027 re-election campaign, accusing the government of fiscal opacity.

The recent allegation that the 2026 budgetary Service-Wide Vote was set aside to fund President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign is either highly mischievous or shows disturbing ignorance of basic principles of public finance.

— Felix MorkaAPC National Publicity Secretary, responding to Atiku Abubakar's claims.

The APC dismissed Abubakar's accusation as "highly mischievous or shows disturbing ignorance of basic principles of public finance." Felix Morka, the APC's National Publicity Secretary, stated that Abubakar failed to provide any evidence for his "sensational claim," describing it as "based purely on conjecture and calculated to inflame, mislead, and distract Nigerians."

Abubakar had pointed to a dramatic surge in the SWV, from N638 billion in 2025 to N12.8 trillion in 2026, a nearly 1,918 percent increase, which he labeled as a stark example of fiscal opacity. The APC countered that the Service-Wide Vote is a long-established budgetary mechanism used to cover government-wide obligations and unforeseen expenditures after the annual budget's passage.

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.

— APC StatementCriticizing Atiku Abubakar's allegations and political contributions.

The party criticized Abubakar for making unsubstantiated allegations, calling him a "petty peddler of fake news and doomsday narratives." The APC asserted that Abubakar has never articulated a clear vision for Nigeria's development and that his claims are irresponsible for a former Vice President. They maintained that President Tinubu remains focused on economic improvement and citizen welfare.

A Service-Wide Vote is not a secret fund or an illegal slush account, as Atiku has baselessly and recklessly alleged.

— APC StatementDefending the nature of the Service-Wide Vote.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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