₦1.08tn Budget for Cooperative College Is Blueprint to Defraud Nigerians — Atiku

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Federal Government over the allocation of ₦1.08 trillion to the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, Enugu State, describing it as a blueprint to defraud Nigerians.

Atiku’s reaction followed revelations from the 2026 Appropriation Act, independently analysed by civic technology organisation Tracka, which indicated that the college was assigned responsibility for executing 2,791 capital projects spread across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President commended Tracka for exposing what he described as one of the most disturbing cases of budget distortion under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

According to Atiku, the allocation contradicts the Federal Government’s claims of fiscal discipline and prudent economic management.

He argued that it was illogical for an institution established to provide cooperative education to be saddled with implementing thousands of infrastructure and social intervention projects nationwide.

“It defies logic, public finance principles and the institution’s statutory mandate that a college established to promote cooperative education should suddenly become responsible for roads, drainage systems, solar streetlights, markets, football pitches, dialysis centres, ambulances, water schemes, recycling plants, empowerment programmes and thousands of other projects scattered across the federation,” he said.

Atiku questioned the legal basis for assigning such responsibilities to the institution and demanded accountability over the process.

“Who decided that a cooperative college should become one of Nigeria’s biggest ministries by stealth? Under what law was it transformed into the implementing agency for 2,791 projects? Who nominated these projects, who approved them, who will supervise them, and who will be held accountable?” he asked.

The former Vice President further argued that the allocation undermines the government’s justification for subsidy removal, tax increases and rising public debt.

“A government that says there is no money, removes fuel subsidy, raises taxes, accumulates unprecedented debt and demands endless sacrifices from Nigerians cannot simultaneously operate a budget that appears designed to hide public spending behind institutions with neither the statutory mandate nor the institutional capacity to execute projects of this magnitude,” Atiku stated.

He maintained that the budgetary provision reflects poor governance and weak fiscal accountability rather than genuine national development.