Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that the Federal Government concealed N12.8 trillion in the 2026 Appropriation Act under the Service-Wide Vote (SWV).
Atiku made the allegation in a statement obtained by The News Chronicle on Monday by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu.
According to the former vice president, the allocation was hidden within the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning’s Service-Wide Vote, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the implementation of the 2026 budget.
He described the 2026 Federal Budget as “the most brazen assault on transparency and fiscal responsibility in Nigeria’s democratic history,” citing what he called disturbing revelations about the Service-Wide Vote.
Atiku claimed that 84 percent of the entire 2026 budget is concentrated in just 10 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), with N12.8 trillion reportedly warehoused under the Service-Wide Vote.
According to him, the development suggests what he described as a deliberate framework for opaque and unaccountable public spending under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He further alleged that while the Service-Wide Vote was N638 billion in the 2025 budget, it had increased to N12.8 trillion in the 2026 Appropriation Act, representing an estimated 1,918 per cent increase within a year.
“President Tinubu owes Nigerians a detailed explanation. No responsible government can expect citizens to accept a nineteen-fold increase in a notoriously opaque budgetary provision without disclosing exactly who will spend the money, what it will be spent on, and under what legal authority,” Atiku said.
He warned that failure by the administration to provide a clear explanation for the allocation could fuel public suspicion about the intended use of the funds.
“Should the Tinubu administration fail to come clean on this unprecedented N12.8 trillion Service-Wide Vote, Nigerians would be justified in suspecting that these enormous sums are being stashed away to bankroll the APC’s political machinery and President Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027. A government with nothing to hide does not conceal trillions behind opaque budgetary headings,” he added.
The Federal Government had not responded to Atiku’s claims as of the time of filing this report.
