The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has alleged plots by the Bola Tinubu administration to create an avenue for the diversion of public funds ahead of the 2027 general elections with its directive for the release of funds to Regional Development Commissions.
The party, in a statement on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Abubakar, said the directive lacked sufficient transparency and accountability safeguards needed to assess projects, track releases and monitor implementation.
President Tinubu had on Monday directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, to ensure that funds accruable to the Regional Development Commissions were released as and when due.
The government also warned the commissions against corruption, waste and white-elephant projects.
But the APM said the timing of the directive, coming months before the 2027 elections, had raised concerns about the possible use of the funds for political purposes.
“While we have nothing against the release of funds to Regional Development Commissions, such funding must come with transparency, measurable deliverables, independent oversight and strict accountability,” the party said.
The party questioned why the directive was being issued months after the National Assembly’s approval of the commissions’ budgets, alleging that the development could provide an avenue for the warehousing of funds for voter inducement.
“President Tinubu must come clean on public concerns that his directive is designed to enable the APC to warehouse funds for its plot to financially induce voters,” the APM alleged.
The party further alleged that the commissions had become conduits for the award of “bloated and unexecuted contracts” by corrupt officials, but provided no specific evidence for the claim in its statement.
It consequently demanded that the government publish the allocations to each regional commission, proposed projects and their locations, contract values, contractors involved and evidence of due diligence before funds are released.
The APM also urged Nigerians to monitor the activities of the commissions and called on their managements to resist and report any alleged pressure from political actors to divert public resources.
The party, however, expressed confidence in its presidential candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, ahead of the 2027 election, claiming that he would defeat Tinubu.
It said no amount of “inducement, intimidation or institutional manipulation” would prevent Nigerians from voting for and protecting their votes for the APM.
Tinubu, in issuing the funding directive, had himself warned the commissions against corruption, politicisation and misuse of public resources, saying government would sanction officials found culpable.
