The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of diverting funds from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to finance the re-election bid of President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the ADC, described the alleged diversion of over N800 billion as “shameless, cruel, and criminal”.
The opposition party said the allegation confirmed longstanding suspicions that public resources were being converted into a political “war chest” for the 2027 elections.
“The report alleging that over N800 billion was raised through deductions from FAAC allocations for political purposes confirms what Nigerians have long suspected.
“That while the administration continues to tell the people to endure the pains of its ill-fated economic reforms, the APC has been converting public resources into a war chest for 2027 politics,” the party said.
The ADC said it was morally indefensible for state governments receiving increased allocations to fail to improve the living conditions of citizens while allegedly funding political campaigns.
The party said: “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.”
The party said if the allegations were true, the development amounted to “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 party stated.
The ADC said the allegations explained why many APC governors appeared more focused on politics than governance despite increased inflows into state coffers following subsidy removal and currency devaluation.
“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 party said.
The party called for an independent investigation into the allegations, including the reported use of FAAC deductions and related accounts allegedly linked to the operation.
The ADC added that “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,” the party said.
