Atiku Abubakar Critiques ₦1.08tn Budget Allocation

Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, criticized the Federal Government's allocation of ₦1.08 trillion to the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, Enugu State, in the 2026 Appropriation Act. He described this allocation as indicative of a "blueprint to defraud Nigerians." His comments followed an analysis by Tracka, a civic technology organization under BudgIT, which revealed that the college was assigned to execute 2,791 capital projects across Nigeria.

Atiku expressed concern over the credibility of the budget, arguing that it contradicts the government's claims of fiscal discipline amid rising public debt and subsidy removal. He questioned the logic of assigning such a vast number of projects, including infrastructure and health initiatives, to an institution primarily meant for cooperative education.

Atiku demanded clarity from the Federal Government regarding the legal basis for this arrangement and accountability for the projects.