The controversy surrounding the N12.8 trillion Service-Wide Vote contained in the 2026 Appropriation Act intensified on Wednesday as the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the media office of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar exchanged accusations over the size, purpose and transparency of the allocation.
While the APC dismissed Atiku’s concerns as mischievous and rooted in a lack of understanding of public finance, the former Vice-President’s media office challenged the Federal Government to explain the significant increase in the provision and publish details of how the funds would be utilised.
The controversy followed Atiku’s call on the National Assembly to put aside partisan considerations and conduct a comprehensive, line-by-line review of allocations under the Service-Wide Vote, particularly the N2.19 trillion personnel provision.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku urged lawmakers to demand full disclosure of the beneficiaries, legal justification and expenditure framework for every naira allocated under the budget heading.
He said Nigerians deserved to know how trillions of naira were being spent, stressing that transparency and accountability should remain central to the budgeting process.
Reacting in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the APC accused Atiku of making an unsubstantiated allegation intended to mislead Nigerians and divert attention from the achievements of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The ruling party described Atiku’s position as either “highly mischievous” or evidence of “a disturbing lack of understanding of the basic principles of public finance”.
The APC explained that a Service-Wide Vote was an established budgetary mechanism used to meet government-wide obligations and unforeseen expenditures arising after the passage of an annual budget.
It argued that similar contingency arrangements existed in major economies and democracies around the world, insisting that the allocation was neither a secret fund nor an illegal slush account.
The party also criticised Atiku’s record in public office and accused him of attempting to discredit the Tinubu administration.
It further defended the Federal Government’s fiscal policies, citing initiatives such as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the new national minimum wage, the Consumer Credit Scheme and the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative.
The APC also pointed to investments in infrastructure, healthcare and agriculture, as well as ongoing tax reforms and other programmes under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
However, Atiku’s media office hit back on Wednesday, challenging the ruling party to address what it described as the central issue—the sharp increase in the Service-Wide Vote from N638.34 billion in 2024 to more than N12.8 trillion in 2026.
In a statement by his Strategic Media Associate, Olusola Sanni, the former Vice-President’s media team said the increase represented an estimated 1,918 per cent rise within two years, arguing that such a significant jump required detailed explanation.
“It is remarkable that in his lengthy treatise, Mr Morka failed to answer the central question: What emergency or unforeseen expenditure justifies increasing the Service-Wide Vote from N638.34 billion in 2024 to over N12.8 trillion in 2026?” the statement asked.
The media office acknowledged that Service-Wide Votes were recognised components of government budgeting but questioned the size of the allocation and the level of disclosure surrounding its use under the Tinubu administration.
It argued that a contingency provision without sufficient specificity, accountability and transparency could become vulnerable to abuse.
The former Vice-President’s team also alleged that some components of the allocation were tied to projects that lacked adequate details, warning that insufficient disclosure could undermine public confidence in Nigeria’s budgeting process.
It further accused the APC-led administration of failing to adequately respond to previous concerns about alleged irregularities in budgetary allocations, including claims of duplicated provisions and unclear project descriptions.
The media office maintained that opposition parties and concerned citizens had a responsibility to question public expenditure.
“Nigerians are not interested in political insults. They want answers,” the statement said.
Sanni challenged the Federal Government to publish details of the N12.8 trillion allocation, including the projects covered, beneficiaries, implementing agencies and the legal basis for each expenditure.
The 2026 budget has continued to attract scrutiny from opposition politicians, civil society organisations and fiscal analysts, who have called for greater transparency and disclosure of public spending to strengthen accountability and restore public confidence in government finances.
