![Dr Muhammad Ali Pate, CEO of Gavi Alliance. [PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter handle of Atiku Abubakar]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2023/02/Dr-Muhammad-Ali-Pate.jpeg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed allegations by former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, that the 2026 Service-Wide Vote (SWV) was created to fund President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign.
The APC described the allegation as “mischievous” and a demonstration of “disturbing ignorance” of basic public finance principles.
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The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, made its position known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
Mr Morka said Atiku had become “more disoriented and misguided than ever before” in the history of his “failed serial presidential bid,” accusing him of making a sensational allegation without providing facts to substantiate it.
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The former vice president, who is seeking to return to the presidential contest in 2027 under the ADC, had alleged that the Service-Wide Vote in the 2026 budget was set aside to fund Mr Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
However, the APC spokesperson said the allegation was based on conjecture and was calculated to “inflame, mislead and distract Nigerians” from what he described as the progress recorded under the Tinubu administration.
Mr Morka said Atiku, as a former vice president and a long-standing presidential aspirant, ought to understand the meaning and purpose of a Service-Wide Vote.
“You would think that a former Vice President, a man with the longest-standing ambition to be president of Nigeria, would understand the concept and instrument of a ‘Service-Wide Vote,’ an elementary principle of public finance,” he said.
According to him, a Service-Wide Vote is a long-established budgetary mechanism used to cater for government-wide obligations and unforeseen expenditure that may arise after the passage of an annual budget.
He said similar contingency arrangements existed in major economies and democracies around the world, stressing that the provision was neither a secret fund nor an illegal slush account.
“A Service-Wide Vote is not a secret fund or an illegal slush account, as Atiku has baselessly and recklessly alleged,” Mr Morka said.
The APC spokesperson accused Atiku of attempting to divert public attention from the achievements of the Tinubu administration by making what he described as unsubstantiated allegations.
He also launched a personal attack on the former vice president, accusing him of having a record tainted by corruption and profligacy.
“The ghost of his sordid past haunts Atiku. Ironically, a man whose reputation as a public servant is mired in some of Nigeria’s darkest episodes of mindless corruption and profligacy attempts to smear a high-achieving administration and lecture Nigerians on matters of fiscal responsibility and budgetary transparency,” he said.
Mr Morka further accused Atiku of attempting to attribute his alleged past misdeeds to the present administration.
The APC spokesperson said the former vice president had failed to articulate a clear vision or coherent plan for Nigeria despite his repeated attempts to become president.
He described Atiku as a “petty peddler of fake news and doomsday narratives”, adding that making “baseless and inflammatory allegations” was irresponsible and unbecoming of a former vice president.
“Nigerians are discerning enough to tell the difference between President Tinubu and the desperate, rudderless presidential candidates such as Atiku,” Mr Morka said.
Defending the administration’s record, the APC said President Tinubu had focused on transforming the country’s challenges into opportunities and implementing policies aimed at improving the economy and living conditions.
The party cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which it said had enabled close to two million students to access higher education.
READ ALSO: Atiku calls for probe of Gbajabiamila-Adeyemi scandal, says NASS failed
It also listed the implementation of the new national minimum wage, the Consumer Credit Scheme, and the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative as among the administration’s key interventions.
According to the party, the CNG initiative was designed to help reduce transportation costs, while the Consumer Credit Scheme was intended to expand access to affordable financing for Nigerians.
The APC also cited the provision of food and other palliatives to vulnerable households, increased investment in infrastructure, healthcare and agriculture, and efforts to expand the country’s industrial base and create high-paying jobs.
Mr Morka further defended the administration’s tax reforms, saying they were designed to simplify the tax system, stimulate economic growth and ease the tax burden on low-income Nigerians.
“The APC and its administration remain focused on realising the Renewed Hope Agenda, rebuilding the country’s economy, deepening institutional reforms, expanding public infrastructure, and improving living conditions for all Nigerians,” he said.
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