2026 Budget: You cannot hide ₦12.8trn from Nigerian — Atiku tells Tinubu

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Federal Government's 2026 budget, alleging that trillions of naira allocated under the Service-Wide Vote (SWV) raise serious transparency and accountability concerns.

In a statement issued on Monday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the appropriation as a significant departure from fiscal transparency, citing what he called an unprecedented concentration of public funds in a handful of government institutions.

According to Atiku, about 84 per cent of the 2026 budget is concentrated in 10 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), while ₦12.8 trillion has been allocated under the Service-Wide Vote in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.

He argued that the allocation represents a sharp increase from the ₦638 billion provided for the Service-Wide Vote in the 2025 budget, describing the jump as requiring public explanation.

"President Tinubu owes Nigerians a detailed explanation. No responsible government can expect citizens to accept a nineteen-fold increase in a notoriously opaque budgetary provision without disclosing exactly who will spend the money, what it will be spent on, and under what legal authority," Atiku said.

Atiku raises concerns over ₦2.19 trillion personnel allocation

The former vice president warned that if the government fails to provide details of the allocation, it could fuel public suspicion over its intended use.

He also questioned what he described as disparities in personnel allocations, noting that while the Federal Ministry of Finance reportedly received ₦54.8 billion for personnel costs, the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning had a ₦2.19 trillion personnel provision under the Service-Wide Vote.

"Who exactly are the workers earning ₦2.19 trillion? Where are they? What offices do they occupy? What agencies do they belong to? Nigerians deserve to see the payroll," he said.

Atiku further argued that the amount allocated under the Service-Wide Vote exceeds the combined allocations to sectors such as education, defence and agriculture, saying such a concentration of funds under broadly defined budget headings warrants closer scrutiny.

He called on the National Assembly to conduct a comprehensive investigation into all allocations under the Service-Wide Vote, particularly the ₦2.19 trillion personnel provision, and to compel the executive to disclose the beneficiaries, legal basis and spending framework for the funds.

"The Nigerian people deserve full disclosure of how public resources are being allocated and spent," Atiku said.

The Federal Government had not responded to the allegations at the time of filing this report. The Presidency and the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning are yet to issue an official response to the claims contained in Atiku's statement.