The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly rejected allegations by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that the 2026 budgetary Service-Wide Vote (SWV) is a hidden fund intended to finance President Bola Tinubu's 2027 re-election campaign. In a press statement issued on Tuesday, July 22, 2026, the ruling party described the claim as "highly mischievous" and accused Atiku of offering no evidence to support his position.
APC Defends Service-Wide Vote as Standard Practice
APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka, who signed the statement, explained that the Service-Wide Vote is a long-established budgetary instrument used globally to cover government-wide obligations and unexpected expenditures that arise after a budget is passed. He emphasized that it is not a secret fund or illegal slush account, as Atiku had alleged. Morka questioned whether Atiku's remarks stemmed from deliberate mischief or a genuine lack of understanding of public finance principles, noting that it was remarkable for a former vice president to appear unfamiliar with such an elementary concept.
APC Highlights Tinubu Administration's Achievements
Beyond rebutting Atiku's claim, the APC used the opportunity to showcase what it described as the administration's commitment to responsible spending. The party listed several programmes, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which it said has provided nearly two million students with access to higher education. Other initiatives mentioned include the implementation of a new national minimum wage, the Consumer Credit Scheme, and the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative aimed at reducing transportation costs. The APC also cited food palliatives for vulnerable households, infrastructure investments, healthcare spending, and tax reforms designed to ease the burden on low-income Nigerians as evidence of the administration's priorities.
APC Accuses Atiku of Peddling Fake News
Morka accused Atiku of being "a petty peddler of fake news and doomsday narratives" who has never presented a clear development plan for Nigeria across his repeated presidential runs. He described the allegations as "utterly irresponsible and unbecoming of a former Vice President." The APC reiterated its focus on the Renewed Hope Agenda, which encompasses economic rebuilding, institutional reform, and expansion of public infrastructure.
Background: Atiku's Call for Tinubu's Resignation
The controversy began when Atiku Abubakar, now the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), called on President Tinubu to apologize to Nigerians and resign. Atiku claimed that contradictory statements from two of the country's top financial institutions regarding the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) accounts had trapped the administration in a web of deception. The APC's response came as a direct rebuttal to these allegations, defending the integrity of the Service-Wide Vote and the administration's fiscal record.
