Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the Federal Government over the allocation of N1.08 trillion to the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, Enugu State, in the 2026 Appropriation Act, describing the move as a “blueprint to defraud Nigerians.”
Atiku’s reaction followed an analysis by civic technology organisation Tracka, which revealed that the college was assigned to execute 2,791 capital projects across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory despite its primary mandate of cooperative education.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former presidential candidate questioned the legal basis for assigning thousands of infrastructure projects to the institution, arguing that it lacks both the statutory mandate and institutional capacity to undertake such responsibilities.
Atiku said the projects reportedly include roads, drainage systems, solar streetlights, markets, dialysis centres, ambulances, water schemes, recycling plants and empowerment programmes, insisting that the arrangement undermines transparency, accountability and the credibility of the 2026 budget. He called on the Federal Government to explain who approved the projects, who would supervise them and who would be held accountable for their execution.
