Atiku Blasts N1.08trn Cooperative College Allocation, Calls Budget Fraud

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has faulted the 2026 Appropriation Act over the allocation of N1.08 trillion to the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, Enugu State, describing it as evidence of what he called a “fraud on Nigerians.”

Atiku’s criticism followed revelations from an independent analysis of the 2026 budget by civic accountability organisation Tracka, which reportedly showed 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 on Tuesday by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president commended Tracka for uncovering what he described as one of the most troubling cases of budget distortion under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

According to Atiku, the development comes at a time when the Federal Government is urging Nigerians to accept economic reforms, increased taxation and rising public debt as necessary measures for prudent fiscal 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.

The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) argued that the allocation raises fundamental questions about the credibility and integrity of the 2026 budget.

He noted that it was difficult to justify how an institution established to promote cooperative education could suddenly become responsible for implementing projects ranging from roads, drainage systems and solar streetlights to markets, football pitches, dialysis centres, ambulances, water schemes, recycling plants and empowerment programmes across the country.

“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?” Atiku queried.

He further contended that the disclosures undermine the Tinubu administration’s repeated claims of fiscal discipline and transparency.

“This government operates a medieval financial system in which the national treasury is treated as the personal purse of the ruler—available to be spent, diverted or dispensed at will, with little regard for transparency, accountability or the public interest. In a constitutional democracy, however, the treasury belongs to the Nigerian people, not to the President or his cronies,” he said.

Atiku also questioned the consistency of government policy, arguing that an administration that has removed fuel subsidies, increased taxes and accumulated significant debt cannot justify channeling such a huge sum through an institution lacking the statutory mandate and institutional capacity to manage projects of that scale.

“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,” he stated.

He added: “A government that plans to spend N1.08 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.”