Atiku's Office Fires Back at APC Over N12.8 Trillion Allocation
The media office of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticized the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu over the N12.8 trillion Service-Wide Vote (SWV) in the 2026 Appropriation Act, demanding a full, itemized breakdown of the funds. In a statement issued on Wednesday, July 21, 2026, and signed by Olusola Sanni, Strategic Media Associate to Atiku Abubakar, the team accused the APC's National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, of responding to their earlier concerns with insults rather than answers, which they described as a sign of a guilty conscience.
Staggering Increase of 1,918% in Two Years
The core of the dispute lies in the dramatic growth of the Service-Wide Vote. According to the statement, the allocation stood at N638.34 billion in 2024 but has skyrocketed to over N12.8 trillion in 2026, representing a jump of approximately 1,918% in under two years. Atiku's media office argued that no reasonable explanation for unforeseen expenditure could justify such a massive increase, especially when the figure now rivals the combined budgets of defense, education, healthcare, and public works. The team also noted that portions of the allocation are tied to projects that are vaguely described or carry no description at all.
"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 statement read.
Demands for Transparency
Rather than accepting Morka's framing of the SWV as a routine budgetary tool, Atiku's team maintained that the sheer scale of the increase moves it beyond any standard justification. The statement also referenced what it called a pattern of questionable budget entries under the current administration, citing duplicated provisions, vague religious project allocations, and unnamed palace renovation expenses as earlier examples that had damaged public confidence in the federal budget process.
The media office restated a demand that the Tinubu administration publish a comprehensive breakdown of the N12.8 trillion allocation, identifying every project, beneficiary, implementing agency, and legal basis for each line item. "Until that is done, Nigerians are entitled to conclude that the APC's anger stems not from the weakness of our questions, but from its inability to answer them," Sanni wrote.
Background and Context
This is not the first time Atiku has raised concerns about the 2026 budget. Earlier, he had called on President Tinubu to publish the names of churches and mosques allocated N8.05 billion in the budget. The Service-Wide Vote is a budgetary provision typically used to cover government-wide expenditures and contingencies, but the rapid expansion has sparked widespread criticism from opposition figures and civil society groups. Legit.ng has previously reported on controversies surrounding Nigeria's federal budget allocations and the growing scrutiny of expenditure lines under the 2026 Appropriation Act.
