APC slams Atiku over allegations of N12.8tn ‘slush fund’ in 2026 budget

Abdullateef Fowewe

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, describing his claims about the 2026 budgetary Service-Wide Vote (SWV) as “highly mischievous” and rooted in “disturbing ignorance of basic principles of public finance.”

In a press statement signed on Wednesday, by Felix Morka, National Publicity Secretary of the APC, the APC accused Atiku of being “haunted by the ghost of his sordid past” while attempting to smear President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The party emphasised that the Service-Wide Vote is a standard budgetary tool used globally for unforeseen expenditures, not a secret fund.

“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 statement added.

The APC further argued that Atiku failed to provide any evidence for his claims and is projecting his own history onto the current administration.

“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 would attempt to smear a high-achieving administration,” it added.

Highlighting the Tinubu administration’s achievements, the statement pointed to initiatives like the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the new national minimum wage, the Consumer Credit Scheme, the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative, and various infrastructure and reform programs.

The statement concluded, “President Tinubu’s administration has continued to demonstrate fiscal responsibility, and justify the use of public resources through landmark interventions. The APC and its administration remain focused on realising the Renewed Hope Agenda.”