ABUJA, Nigeria: On Monday, July 20, 2026, former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, accused President Bola Tinubu of using the 2026 federal budget to bury N12.8 trillion ($9.28 billion) in unaccountable spending through a surge in the Service-Wide Vote.
Okay News reports that spokesman Phrank Shaibu released a statement on behalf of the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, detailing that the discretionary budget line jumped from N638 billion ($462.5 million) in 2025 to N12.8 trillion ($9.28 billion) this year, representing a 1,918 percent rise.
The figure is tied to 10 ministries, departments, and agencies, which together account for 84 percent of the entire budget. Atiku Abubakar singled out the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, stating that N2.19 trillion ($1.58 billion) of the Service-Wide Vote is listed as personnel costs, dwarfing the N54.8 billion ($39.7 million) allocated for salaries at the Federal Ministry of Finance.
“Who exactly are the workers earning ₦2.19 trillion? Where are they? What offices do they occupy? What agencies do they belong to?” he said.
He argued that the sums hidden under the Service-Wide Vote exceed the combined allocations for education, defence, and agriculture, suggesting the money is positioned to fund the campaign machinery of the ruling party and the re-election bid of Bola Tinubu in 2027.
He charged the National Assembly to launch a line-by-line probe of the Service-Wide Vote and the N2.19 trillion ($1.58 billion) personnel allocation to compel full disclosure of who benefits from the funds.
“It is time to open the books, expose the truth and restore integrity to Nigeria’s budgeting process,” he said.
