- Questions Erupt On Why A Cooperative College Is Implementing Projects Far Beyond Its Statutory Mandate
A fresh review of the 2026 Federal Government budget has sparked concerns over transparency and accountability after revealing that the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, has been allocated a staggering N1.08 trillion to execute 2,791 capital projects across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), despite its statutory mandate being limited to cooperative education and development.\
The findings, released in a budget analysis on Sunday by Tracka, the investigation arm of BudgIT, questioned why a federal cooperative college would be designated to implement thousands of projects ranging from road construction to healthcare and agricultural interventions nationwide.
According to the review, the projects assigned to the institution include the construction of roads and drainage systems, installation of solar streetlights, establishment of digital learning centres, supply of rice and empowerment materials, construction of football pitches, medical outreach programmes, plastic recycling and processing plants, dialysis centres, ambulance procurement and several other interventions.
The analysts argued that these projects extend far beyond the institution’s core responsibility of promoting cooperative education through capacity building, research, innovation, leadership development and support for sustainable livelihoods.
“Our review of the 2026 Federal Government budget reveals that the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, has been allocated N1.08 trillion for 2,791 capital projects spread across the 36 states in Nigeria and the FCT,” the report stated.
It added, “This means a single federal cooperative college is expected to implement thousands of projects with nationwide coverage from Abia to Zamfara, Sokoto to Bayelsa, Lagos to Borno and across the FCT.”
The review also expressed concern that many of the projects lack clearly identified implementation locations, warning that the omission could make public oversight and monitoring nearly impossible.
“Even more concerning, many of these projects have no clearly stated implementation locations, making citizen oversight and project tracking extremely difficult,” the report noted.
The analysts further observed that the N1.08 trillion allocation to the college exceeds the combined capital allocations of several major federal ministries, including the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Arts, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, and all six agencies under the Federal Ministry of Interior.
Describing the development as troubling, the report posed several questions to the authorities.
“Why is a cooperative college implementing projects far beyond its statutory mandate? How were these projects assigned to the institution? How can citizens track projects with no clearly defined locations? What accountability mechanisms are in place to ensure value for money?” it asked.
The report warned that, at a time when Nigeria is grappling with fiscal constraints and increasing reliance on borrowing to finance public spending, budget allocations must be transparent and entrusted to institutions with the legal mandate and operational capacity to execute them
“A budget item without a clear location, defined beneficiaries and a responsible implementing agency creates fertile ground for waste, inefficiency and weak accountability,” the analysts said.
The findings are expected to intensify calls for greater scrutiny of the 2026 budget and stronger oversight of public expenditure by the National Assembly and anti-corruption agencies.
