FENRAD Demands Transparency Over ₦780m Youth Reorientation Project in Bende

The Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) has called for greater transparency and accountability in the proposed ₦780 million budgetary allocation for a Youth Reorientation Programme in Bende Federal Constituency, urging the Federal Government and relevant authorities to make public details of the project’s implementation.

The civil society organisation made the call in a statement issued on Friday in Umuahia, signed by the Executive Director of FENRAD, Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, following public debate over the allocation captured in the 2026 Appropriation Act under the Office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, as part of the Zonal Intervention Projects (ZIPs), also known as constituency projects.

FENRAD acknowledged the Deputy Speaker’s recent clarification on the actual budgetary allocation, noting that while the clarification addressed the amount involved, it did not resolve concerns surrounding the implementation framework, procurement process, beneficiary selection, monitoring mechanisms, and financial accountability for the intervention.

The organisation stressed that every public expenditure should be managed in line with the principles of openness, efficiency, equity and measurable public benefit.

According to FENRAD, youth reorientation initiatives aimed at addressing drug abuse, cultism, youth violence and other social challenges are legitimate public policy objectives deserving government support. However, it maintained that programmes funded with public resources must be implemented through transparent and inclusive processes that inspire public confidence and allow for independent monitoring and evaluation.

The group called on the relevant authorities to publicly disclose the implementation framework for the intervention, criteria for selecting beneficiaries and implementing organisations, as well as details of the procurement process for the proposed musical equipment.

It also requested the release of information on the quantity, specifications and distribution plan for the equipment, the identities of implementing partners, including whether faith-based organisations, community groups, civil society organisations or government agencies would participate, and the accountability measures guiding their involvement.

FENRAD further demanded the publication of the monitoring, evaluation and reporting framework for the programme, alongside periodic financial and performance reports throughout its implementation.

The organisation insisted that any institution entrusted with managing public funds should be subjected to strict financial reporting obligations, independent audits where applicable, and public accountability standards consistent with Nigeria’s public finance and procurement laws.

It also urged the National Assembly, relevant oversight committees and anti-corruption agencies to ensure that the project complies with due process, procurement regulations and the principle of value for money.

While noting that implementation of the programme has yet to commence, FENRAD said there was still an opportunity for authorities to review the implementation framework or, where legally permissible, consider reallocating the funds to interventions with greater developmental impact.

Among the alternatives suggested were youth skills acquisition programmes, entrepreneurship support, drug rehabilitation initiatives, digital innovation hubs, educational infrastructure, sports development and community empowerment projects.

“Transparency is not an obstacle to governance; it is the foundation of public trust,” the organisation stated, adding that citizens have a constitutional right to know how public resources are allocated, managed and utilised.

FENRAD reaffirmed its commitment to promoting responsible public financial management and democratic governance, while pledging to continue engaging government institutions, development partners, civil society organisations and citizens in advancing accountability and good governance.