APC Dismisses Atiku’s 2026 SWV Claim

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s claim that the 2026 Service-Wide Vote (SWV) would fund President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, Mr Felix Morka, APC National Publicity Secretary, described the allegation as mischievous.

Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, had challenged Tinubu to explain the N12.8 trillion allocated to SWV in the 2026 budget.

He described the provision as an unprecedented threat to transparency and fiscal responsibility.

However, Morka said the allegation demonstrated Atiku’s “disturbing ignorance” of basic public finance principles.

The APC spokesman accused Atiku of becoming increasingly “disoriented and misguided” throughout his unsuccessful presidential campaigns.

Morka said Atiku had not provided facts to substantiate his “sensational claim”, which he described as conjecture calculated to inflame and mislead Nigerians.

He said the allegation was also intended to distract Nigerians from what he called the “visible and steady progress” recorded under Tinubu’s administration.

According to Morka, SWV is a long-established budgetary mechanism for government-wide obligations and unforeseen expenditures arising after annual budgets are passed.

“Similar contingency arrangements exist in virtually all major economies and democracies of the world.

“A SWV is not a secret fund or an illegal slush account, as Atiku has baselessly and recklessly alleged,” Morka said.

The APC publicity secretary said Atiku, with his long-standing presidential ambition, should have understood the concept.

He accused the former vice-president of failing to articulate a clear vision or coherent plan for Nigeria’s development.

Morka said Atiku had instead remained “a petty peddler of fake news and doomsday narratives”.

He said the former vice-president’s repeated baseless and inflammatory allegations were unbecoming of a former occupant of Nigeria’s second-highest office.

Morka said Nigerians were discerning enough to distinguish between Tinubu’s leadership and Atiku’s political record.

He said Tinubu was transforming national challenges into opportunities while achieving what he described as significant gains for Nigeria.

According to him, the administration has demonstrated fiscal responsibility through landmark interventions and the effective use of public resources.

He cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which he said had enabled nearly two million students to access higher education.

Morka also listed the implementation of the new national minimum wage, Consumer Credit Scheme and Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative.

He said the initiatives had expanded affordable financing and helped reduce transportation costs for Nigerians.

Morka assured that the APC and its administration remained focused on implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He said the agenda prioritised rebuilding the economy, deepening institutional reforms, expanding infrastructure and improving living conditions.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)