The National Assembly approved ₦9.887 billion for vehicles, boats, and empowerment items embedded within the annual budget of the Federal Co-operative College, Oji River, Enugu, despite the projects falling outside the school's academic mandate. The allocation has raised concerns over lawmakers embedding constituency projects in the budgets of agencies with unrelated responsibilities.
₦9.9 Billion in Questionable Allocations
The budget includes vehicles for traditional rulers, CNG buses for youths, security vehicles, fishing boats, and agricultural logistics. The projects are spread across several states, despite the college's mandate being limited to cooperative education and training. The allocations were buried inside the college's capital budget, even though the institution's primary responsibility is to train students in cooperative education and management.
The Federal Co-operative College in Oji River, Enugu State, received over ₦225 billion for capital expenditure in the 2026 Appropriation Act. The allocation has raised questions about the long-standing practice of inserting constituency-style projects into the budgets of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) that have little or no connection to such projects.
Nationwide Transportation Programmes and Empowerment Projects
One of the biggest allocations is ₦2.1 billion for the "purchase/provision of utility vehicles and other vehicles to assist some farmers, farmers guard, and some distribution agents in agric chain distribution in Nigeria with multiple lots." Another ₦630 million was approved for the "provision/supply of security vehicles to enhance security patrol in some selected farming communities in South-South states."
The budget also includes ₦350 million for empowerment items in Owan, Edo State, including sewing machines, motorcycles, refrigerators, grinding machines, freezers, and generators. In Gombe State, another ₦350 million was approved for motorcycles aimed at empowering youths in Akko Federal Constituency. Ogun State got ₦350 million for the procurement of fairly used and brand-new vehicles under a transportation programme in Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency.
Multiple Federal Constituencies on the List
Allocations totaling hundreds of millions of naira were earmarked for motorcycles, tricycles, and mini-pickups distributed across multiple federal constituencies in Gombe, Lagos, and Edo states. Enugu State also has ₦350 million earmarked for the purchase and distribution of CNG minibuses for youths. For Delta South Senatorial District, the budget approved ₦140 million each for tricycles for women and youths, motorcycles, motor cars, and fishing boats.
Lagos also appeared on the list, with ₦210 million budgeted for mini pickups and minibuses to transport agricultural produce in Oshodi/Isolo II, while another ₦70 million was approved for tricycles and minibuses for youth and women empowerment.
National Assembly's Role in Questionable Allocations
The development has again raised questions about the long-standing practice of inserting constituency-style projects into the budgets of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) that have little or no connection to such projects. Instead of being listed directly under lawmakers' constituency allocations, many of the projects appear as capital projects of the Federal Co-operative College, making it harder for members of the public to identify the legislators who nominated them while leaving the institution as the official implementing agency.
With nearly ₦225.6 billion allocated for capital expenditure alone, the inclusion of ₦9.887 billion worth of buses, vehicles, motorcycles, and other empowerment items has left many Nigerians asking how an academic institution ended up handling billions of naira worth of empowerment projects across the country.
Source: Pulse.ng
