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Atiku demands answers from Tinubu over suspicious N12.8trn service-wide vote
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Ex -President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of using the 2026 federal budget to bury trillions of naira in unaccountable spending, pointing to a dramatic surge in the Service-Wide Vote SWV that he says the government must now explain.
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC said the SWV, a discretionary budget line, jumped from N638 billion in 2025 to N12.8 trillion this year, a nearly 1,918 per cent rise that he called one of the starkest examples of fiscal opacity in the country’s democratic era.
The figure is tied to just 10 ministries, departments and agencies’ MDAs, which together account for 84 per cent of the entire budget, according to a statement signed by his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, on Monday.
Atiku zeroed in on the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, where he said N2.19 trillion of the SWV is listed as personnel costs, dwarfing the N54.8 billion 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 asked, describing the figures as budgetary absurdity rather than legitimate planning.
The former Vice President argued that the sums hidden under the SWV now exceed the combined allocations for education, defence and agriculture, and he suggested a political motive behind the concealment.
He said Nigerians would be justified in suspecting the money is being positioned to fund the ruling party’s campaign machinery and Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027 unless the administration accounts for it in full.
He described the entire budget as emblematic of a wider credibility problem, arguing that a government asking citizens to endure hardship cannot simultaneously shield trillions of naira behind vague headings without forfeiting public trust.
Atiku charged the National Assembly to launch a line-by-line probe of the Service-Wide Vote, especially the N2.19 trillion personnel allocation, and to compel full disclosure of who benefits from it and under what legal authority.
“It is time to open the books, expose the truth and restore integrity to Nigeria’s budgeting process,” he said.
Troops of Operation ENDURING PEACE, OPEP, in collaboration with the Civilian Joint Task Force, CJTF, have arrested a suspected kidnapper linked to the abduction of a resident in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
This was contained in a statement posted on X by the Nigerian Army.
The post identified the suspect as Buba Ali, 30, adding that he was arrested at about 12:45 pm on Sunday, August 9, at Binawa village in Kauru Local Government Area.
According to post, the suspect was arrested during a joint operation conducted by troops of Sector 7 OPEP and members of the CJTF.
It said the suspect was reportedly linked to the kidnapping of Alhaji Tasi, who was abducted in the village.
“Following his arrest, Ali was taken into custody and is currently being interrogated by security personnel.
“The ongoing investigation is focused on obtaining information that could lead to the identification and arrest of other members of the suspected kidnapping gang,” the Army said.
Nigerian ambassador to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has rejected claims by an Islamic scholar, Sheikh Yahaya Jingir, that Nigeria is a Muslim country.
In a viral video, Sheikh Jingir, who was preaching to Muslims at an event, said “if you don’t want to accept a Muslim-Muslim ticket, you should leave Nigeria because it belongs to us”.
The comment has continued to generate backlash online as Christians rejected the claim.
Reacting, Fani-kayode in a statement posted on his official X handle on Sunday night, said the cleric’s remark is unhelpful and untrue.
“Worse of all is the fact that it is highly provocative,” the former aviation minister said.
“Kindly take note that it is a very slippery and dangerous slope to take and is best avoided. Nigeria is NOT a Muslim country and neither is she a Christian country.
“She is a SECULAR and MULTI-RELIGIOUS state comprising BOTH Christians and Muslims in equal numbers and that is our strength,” FFK added.
He further stated that President Bola Tinubu’s Muslim/Muslim ticket for 2027 is gaining acceptance “only because of the calibre, ability, sincerity of purpose, character, utility and electoral strength of our Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and their ability to deliver and not because they are Muslims”.
“One day we may have a Christian/Christian ticket too because with God all things are possible,” he added.
The Osun State Police Command has confirmed the release of the state Commissioner for Environment and Sanitation, Moyowa Adejoorin, who was arrested in connection with a shooting incident at an All Progressives Congress, APC, rally in Ilesa.
The incident occurred on Saturday and reportedly left four people injured, including a teenager identified as Tobi Ilesanmi.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, said Adejoorin was taken into custody after police officers arrived at the scene, secured the area and began collecting evidence.
According to Ojelabi, the commissioner’s vehicle was stopped at the location, where an Amotekun operative allegedly linked to the shooting was also found.
“Immediately the incident was reported, our personnel moved to the scene and cordoned off the area before some exhibits were recovered, which included expended cartridges and Amotekun personnel caps.
“Also, Mr Adejoorin was arrested at the scene and taken to the command for questioning as part of the investigation process,” Ojelabi said.
The development came amid heightened attention to the incident after a video circulated on social media on Sunday showing Adejoorin leaving the police command.
Confirming the development, Ojelabi told Vanguard that the commissioner had been released on bail but said he was still awaiting clarification on the status of the Amotekun operative who was arrested alongside him.
“It is true that the commissioner has been released on bail today, but I am yet to clear the situation with the Amotekun personnel arrested with him,” he said.
Police investigations into the circumstances surrounding the shooting are ongoing.
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