BudgIT, a Nigerian civic tech organization focused on accountability in public finance, has alleged a significant budget discrepancy involving the Federal Co-Operative College (FCC) Oji River.
In a tweet, the organization alleged that while FCC Oji River initially submitted a budget of N12.8 billion to the National Assembly, but that the lawmakers approved an inflated N103.6 billion—an increase of over N90 billion.
BudgIT questioned the rationale behind the drastic hike, pointing out what they described as “419 insertions” in the budget.
The tweet read: “Is the National Assembly mining gold at the Federal Co-Operative College Oji River? How else do you explain 419 insertions and a N90 billion budget hike? FCC Oji River sent N12.8 billion to the National Assembly. The National Assembly sent back N103.6 billion as an APPROVED budget! Woow, just woow!”
The organization further criticized the apparent budgetary manipulation, labelling the situation as part of ongoing concerns over Nigeria’s budget transparency under the hashtag #TheBudgetisaMess.
