Ex-VP Haunted By Ghost Of His Sordid Past – APC Fires Back At Atiku Over Service-Wide Vote Allegation

• APC rejects Atiku Abubakar’s allegation that the ₦12.8 trillion Service-Wide Vote in the 2026 budget is a hidden fund to bankroll President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign, describing the claim as false and politically motivated.

• Ruling party says the former Vice President is “haunted by the ghost of his sordid past,” accusing him of hypocrisy and lacking the moral authority to question the Tinubu administration’s fiscal transparency.

• APC insists the Service-Wide Vote is a globally recognised public finance mechanism used to meet government-wide obligations and unforeseen expenditures, stressing that it is neither a secret fund nor an illegal slush account.

• Party highlights Tinubu administration’s flagship programmes, including NELFUND, the new minimum wage, Consumer Credit Scheme, CNG Initiative, infrastructure expansion, healthcare, agriculture and tax reforms, as evidence of prudent management of public resources.

July 22, () — The All Progressives Congress (APC) has launched a blistering attack on former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over his criticism of the Service-Wide Vote (SWV) contained in the 2026 Appropriation Act, accusing him of peddling falsehoods and deliberately misleading Nigerians for political advantage.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the ruling party dismissed Atiku’s allegation that the ₦12.8 trillion Service-Wide Vote was deliberately set aside by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to finance his 2027 re-election campaign.

The APC described the allegation as “highly mischievous” and said it either reflected “disturbing ignorance of basic principles of public finance” or a calculated attempt to inflame public opinion and distract Nigerians from what it described as the administration’s achievements.

According to the party, Atiku failed to provide any evidence to support his claims, relying instead on conjecture and sensationalism.

“Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has become more disoriented and misguided than ever before in the history of his failed serial presidential bid”, the statement read.

Responding to Atiku’s allegations, the APC explained that the Service-Wide Vote is a long-established budgetary instrument designed to provide funding for government-wide obligations and unforeseen expenditures that arise after the passage of the annual budget.

The party said similar contingency funding arrangements exist in many democracies across the world and are recognised as legitimate public finance tools. It maintained that the Service-Wide Vote is neither a secret political fund nor an illegal slush account, contrary to Atiku’s claims.

“You would think that a former Vice President, a man with the longest-standing ambition to be president of Nigeria, would understand the concept and instrument of a Service-Wide Vote, an elementary principle of public finance”, the APC stated.

It insisted that the opposition leader’s allegation lacked factual basis and was intended to undermine public confidence in the government’s fiscal management.

‘Ghost of His Sordid Past’

The APC accused Atiku of hypocrisy, saying the former Vice President was “haunted by the ghost of his sordid past.” It alleged that Atiku’s years in public office were associated with corruption and financial profligacy, arguing that he lacked the moral authority to lecture the Tinubu administration on transparency and accountability.

“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 and lecture Nigerians on matters of fiscal responsibility and budgetary transparency”, the statement read.

The party further described Atiku as a “serial presidential contestant” who had repeatedly failed to present a coherent vision for Nigeria’s development, accusing him instead of relying on “fake news and doomsday narratives” to score political points.

Tinubu’s Reforms Cited

The APC defended the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms and social intervention programmes, saying the government has consistently demonstrated fiscal responsibility through landmark initiatives.

Among the programmes highlighted were the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which it said has enabled nearly two million students to access higher education, the implementation of the new national minimum wage, the Consumer Credit Scheme, and the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative aimed at reducing transportation costs.

The party also cited investments in infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, industrialisation, food support for vulnerable households and far-reaching tax reforms intended to simplify the tax system, stimulate economic growth and reduce the tax burden on low-income Nigerians.

According to the APC, these programmes demonstrate the administration’s commitment to rebuilding the economy and improving citizens’ welfare under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

“The APC and its administration remain focused on realising the Renewed Hope Agenda, rebuilding the country’s economy, deepening institutional reforms, expanding public infrastructure and improving living conditions for all Nigerians”, the statement added.

Background

The APC’s rebuttal follows allegations by Atiku Abubakar that the Tinubu administration concealed ₦12.8 trillion under the Service-Wide Vote (SWV) in the 2026 Appropriation Act, which he described as an unprecedented assault on transparency and fiscal accountability.

In a statement issued on Monday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President described the 2026 budget as “the most brazen assault on transparency and fiscal responsibility in Nigeria’s democratic history,” alleging that its structure created room for opaque and unaccountable spending.

Atiku argued that the Service-Wide Vote increased from ₦638 billion in the 2025 budget to ₦12.8 trillion in the 2026 budget, representing an extraordinary 1,918 per cent increase within one fiscal year. He questioned the rationale behind the sharp rise and called on the Federal Government to explain the allocations.

He also raised concerns over the ₦2.19 trillion personnel allocation under the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, demanding that the government identify the beneficiaries and justify the expenditure. The former Vice President further claimed that about 84 per cent of the 2026 budget was concentrated in just 10 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), warning that such a concentration of public funds raised serious accountability concerns.

Atiku subsequently called on the National Assembly to conduct a comprehensive investigation into all allocations under the Service-Wide Vote, insisting that every kobo appropriated in the 2026 budget should be subjected to public scrutiny.

The exchange marks the latest chapter in the intensifying political battle between the ruling APC and the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections, with both sides increasingly clashing over the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, budget priorities and fiscal management.