2026 budget shock: National Assembly hid ₦9.8bn for buses, motorcycles and traditional rulers in Enugu college's budget

Precious Omolu 15:07 - 12 August 2026

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The National Assembly approved ₦9.887 billion for vehicles, boats, and empowerment items embedded within the annual budget of a regional tertiary institution

National Assembly approved ₦9.887 billion for buses, motorcycles, tricycles, boats and vehicles under the 2026 budget of the Federal Co-operative College, Oji River, Enugu, despite the projects falling outside the school's academic mandate.

₦9.887 billion was approved for buses, motorcycles, tricycles, boats and vehicles under the Federal Co-operative College, Oji River's 2026 budget.
The projects are spread across several states despite the college's mandate being limited to cooperative education and training.
The budget includes vehicles for traditional rulers, CNG buses for youths, security vehicles, fishing boats and agricultural logistics.
The allocations have renewed concerns over lawmakers embedding constituency projects in the budgets of agencies with unrelated responsibilities.

The 2026 federal budget has thrown up another surprise, and this one has left many Nigerians asking how an academic institution ended up handling billions of naira worth of empowerment projects across the country.

According to details contained in the 2026 Appropriation Act obtained by SaharaReporters from the Budget Office of the Federation, the National Assembly approved ₦9.887 billion for the purchase and distribution of buses, vehicles, motorcycles, tricycles, tractors, fishing boats and other empowerment items under the budget of the Federal Co-operative College, Oji River, Enugu State.

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.

A review of the budget showed that the Federal Co-operative College received a total allocation of ₦226.77 billion for 2026, with ₦225.63 billion earmarked for capital projects. Out of that amount, almost ₦9.9 billion was set aside for projects spread across different states, many of which have no direct connection to the college's academic mandate.

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."

The Federal Co-operative College in Oji River, Enugu State, received over ₦225 billion for capital expenditure in the 2026 Appropriation Act despite its primary focus on cooperative education.

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," while another ₦630 million will go towards procuring and distributing boat outboard engines to youths in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State.

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.

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.

There is also ₦350 million for an ambulance, generator and medical equipment for an Intensive Care Unit and Amenities Centre in Efon-Alaaye, Ekiti State.

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.

One allocation that has attracted attention is ₦70 million meant for vehicles for traditional rulers in the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency of the Federal Capital Territory. According to the budget, the vehicles are "to enable them function well in some selected clans."

Several other states, including Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, Kano, Anambra, Ebonyi, Abia, Imo, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Kwara, Edo and Zamfara, also have allocations for motorcycles, tricycles, buses, Hilux vans, fishing boats and other empowerment materials under the same college's budget.

Outboard boat engines and security patrol vehicles were designated for coastal and farming communities in the South-South region under the college's line-item allocation.

However, checks on the official mandate of the Federal Co-operative College, Oji River, show no provision empowering the institution to implement nationwide transportation programmes, constituency empowerment projects or public infrastructure contracts across Nigeria.

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 projects has added fresh scrutiny to the 2026 federal budget and renewed concerns over transparency in Nigeria's appropriation process.