TDFormer Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Tinubu administration of hiding ₦12.8 trillion under the Service-Wide Vote (SWV) in the 2026 Federal Budget.
Alhaji Abubakar described the allocation as a major threat to transparency and fiscal accountability.
Atiku, who contested the 2023 presidential election under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the allegation in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
Sharp Increase in Service-Wide Vote
According to Atiku, ₦12.8 trillion has been warehoused under the SWV in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, representing a nineteen-fold increase from the ₦638 billion allocated in the 2025 budget.
He argued that 84 percent of the 2026 budget is concentrated in just 10 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
He said:
“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.”
Suspicions of Political Funding and Disparities in Personnel Costs
Atiku warned that failure to explain the allocations could lead Nigerians to suspect that the funds are being diverted to bankroll the APC’s political machinery and President Tinubu’s potential 2027 re-election bid.
The former vice president also raised concerns about personnel allocations. He noted that while the Ministry of Finance received ₦54.8 billion for personnel costs, the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning was allocated ₦2.19 trillion under the SWV.
“Who exactly are the workers earning ₦2.19 trillion? Where are they? What offices do they occupy? What agencies do they belong to? This is not budgeting; it is budgetary absurdity,” Atiku stated.
Impact on Critical Sectors
Atiku argued that the SWV allocation exceeds the combined budgets for education, defence, and agriculture.
He warned that such concentration of funds under opaque headings undermines accountability and diverts resources from essential sectors.
Call for Legislative Oversight as Government Response Pending
He urged the National Assembly to investigate all allocations under the Service-Wide Vote, particularly the ₦2.19 trillion personnel provision, and demand full disclosure of beneficiaries, legal basis, and spending frameworks.
“A government that cannot explain where trillions of naira are going has forfeited the moral authority to demand sacrifice from its citizens. It is time to open the books, expose the truth and restore integrity to Nigeria’s budgeting process,” Atiku added.
As of the time of filing this report, the Federal Government had yet to respond to the allegations.
