Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governors of diverting public funds for campaigns both at the party’s primary elections and the 2027 general election.

African Democratic Congress (ADC) described the alleged diversion as shameless, cruel, and criminal, especially as millions of Nigerians were sinking deeper into poverty, hunger, and hopelessness due to the bad policies of the ruling party.

At the same time, human rights and anti-poverty organisation, ActionAid Nigeria, called for the impeachment of any governor found guilty of using state resources to fund political campaigns ahead of the elections.

There were reports recently alleging financial disputes within the APC governors’ forum over the handling of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds and alleged political spending ahead of the 2027 elections.

The forum had, however, denied any claims of internal crisis, and no formal investigation was announced by relevant anti-corruption agencies regarding the allegations.

Nevertheless, Atiku, in a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of colluding with state governors to divert public resources into accounts allegedly earmarked for the president’s 2027 re-election campaign.

In the statement posted on Tuesday, Atiku alleged that funds that should have been used for governance and public welfare were being redirected into “dedicated accounts” for political mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.

He stated that the development was worsening the economic hardship, insecurity, and poverty across the country, stressing that citizens are bearing the consequences of the mismanagement of national resources.

According to him, the alleged diversion of funds explains both the deepening economic crisis and growing tensions within the ranks of APC governors.

Atiku said, “The Tinubu-led APC administration is in cahoots with APC governors to divert your resources to dedicated accounts for Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign.”

He further suggested that disagreements within the Progressive Governors’ Forum were linked to disputes over access to and management of the alleged diverted funds.

Atiku also warned that citizens would ultimately be responsible if they “reward” the ruling party with another term in office despite current economic realities.

ADC: Diverting FAAC is Criminal, Cruel

ADC reacted to reports alleging that governors elected on the platform of APC diverted funds from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to finance Tinubu’s re-election campaign.

It described the action as shameless, cruel, and criminal, especially as millions of Nigerians were sinking deeper into poverty, hunger, and hopelessness due to the bad policies of the ruling party.

The party said the report alleging that over N800 billion was raised through deductions from FAAC allocations for political purposes confirmed what Nigerians had long suspected: while the administration continued to tell the people to endure the pains of its ill-fated economic reforms, APC had been converting public resources into a war chest for 2027 politics.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC said it was morally indefensible that state governments receiving record-breaking allocations were unable to improve the lives of the people, yet could divert money to fund the president’s re-election ambitions.

According to the ADC spokesman, ‘’Under this APC government, states are receiving more money than at any other period in Nigeria’s history, yet Nigerians are poorer, hungrier, and more desperate than ever before.

“Roads are still collapsing. Hospitals are still empty. Schools are still underfunded. Workers are underpaid. Communities remain unsafe. The only thing growing is the political appetite of the ruling party.

‘’If the allegations published by THEWILL are true, then what has occurred is not just political corruption, but a direct theft of resources belonging to the Nigerian people.

“FAAC allocations are meant for development, salaries, healthcare, education, infrastructure, security, and the welfare of citizens, not for financing the re-election plans of one man. To divert public allocations into political accounts while citizens cannot afford food is wickedness on an industrial scale.”

The statement said, ‘’These revelations explain why many APC governors appear more interested in political calculations than governance, despite unprecedented inflows into state coffers following subsidy removal and currency devaluation policies that have inflicted severe hardship on Nigerians.

‘’The same government that told Nigerians there is no money to reduce suffering somehow found a way to allegedly mobilise over N800 billion for politics.

“The same government asking citizens to endure sacrifice is allegedly supervising one of the largest political funding operations in Nigeria’s democratic history. This is not leadership. This is exploitation.

‘’The APC government has effectively turned governance into a fundraising machine for 2027 while Nigerians battle inflation, unemployment, insecurity, collapsing purchasing power, and rising poverty.’’

ADC called for immediate independent investigation into the allegations, including the reported use of FAAC deductions and any related accounts or structures allegedly linked to the operation.

The party said Nigerians deserved to know whether money belonging to states and local governments was diverted for partisan political purposes.

Abdullahi stated, “If these allegations are true, then this represents a dangerous abuse of public trust and a scandal of enormous national consequence. No amount of political spending can save a government that has lost the confidence of the people.

‘’You cannot impoverish the people to fund your own re-election. Nigerians are not blind. Nigerians are not fools. And Nigerians will remember.’’ (Arise News)

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