Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has questioned a provision in the 2026 Appropriation Act allocating ₦1.08 trillion to Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, Enugu State for the execution of 2,791 capital projects across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He stated that the development indicates that the 2026 Appropriation Act has been compromised.
NEWSNGR reports that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) flag bearer shared his reservations in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
Atiku commended Tracka for an independent analysis he said exposed one of the most troubling cases of budget distortion under the Tinubu administration
He said the disclosure undercuts the Presidency’s insistence that painful reforms, higher taxes and heavy borrowing reflect prudent economic management.
“Nothing exposes the hollowness of that claim more than a budget that turns a federal cooperative college into one of Nigeria’s largest project-implementing agencies,” he said.
He argued that the allocation defies logic, public finance principles and the institution’s statutory mandate, questioning how a college established to promote cooperative education became responsible for roads, drainage systems, solar streetlights, markets, football pitches, dialysis centres, ambulances, water schemes, recycling plants, empowerment programmes and thousands of other projects nationwide.
“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 said the revelations undermine the administration’s claim of fiscal discipline, accusing the government of running what he called a medieval financial system
“In a constitutional democracy, however, the treasury belongs to the Nigerian people, not to the President or his cronies,” he said.
He contended that a government demanding sacrifice from citizens while channelling such a large sum through an institution without the capacity to execute it cannot claim to be managing resources prudently.
“A government that plans to spend ₦1.08 trillion through a cooperative college cannot claim to be fighting waste or promoting fiscal discipline. It looks less like governance and more like a blueprint to defraud Nigerians,” he declared.
