By Opeyemi Adelakun
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected allegations by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that the 2026 Service-Wide Vote (SWV) was created to secretly finance President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the ruling party described the allegation as false, speculative and unsupported by evidence.
The APC maintained that the Service-Wide Vote is a long-established budgetary provision designed to cater for government-wide obligations and unforeseen expenditures after the annual budget has been approved.
According to the party, the SWV is a recognised public finance instrument and should not be portrayed as a secret or illegal fund.
The APC faulted Atiku for failing to provide evidence to support his claim that the Tinubu administration intended to deploy the budgetary provision for political activities ahead of the 2027 general election.
It argued that a former vice president should be familiar with the operation of the Service-Wide Vote, describing it as an elementary principle of public financial management.
The ruling party further accused Atiku of attempting to mislead Nigerians with what it called sensational allegations aimed at distracting public attention from the achievements of the current administration.
APC defends Tinubu’s reforms
The APC also defended the Tinubu administration’s economic and social programmes, citing initiatives such as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the implementation of the new national minimum wage, the Consumer Credit Scheme, the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative, tax reforms and investments in infrastructure, healthcare and agriculture.
It maintained that the administration remains committed to implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda and improving the welfare of Nigerians.
The party further criticised Atiku for repeatedly contesting the presidency without presenting what it described as a clear development agenda, accusing him of promoting misinformation and negative narratives about the government.
The APC’s response followed allegations made by Atiku in May that the Tinubu administration and APC governors were diverting public funds into dedicated accounts to finance the President’s 2027 re-election bid.
The former vice president had alleged that the diversion of public resources was worsening economic hardship, insecurity and poverty, while also linking disagreements within the APC Governors’ Forum over Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations to the alleged campaign funding.
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