Twenty-seven states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have failed to access the ₦36.1 billion education fund provided by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in 2023.
This figure, detailed in a UBEC document from March 2024, highlights the unaccessed state-by-state matching grants. The document, signed by UBEC’s Director of Finance and Accounts, Adamu Misau, confirms that ₦36.1 billion remained unutilized.
According to the data, states like Jigawa, Sokoto, Zamfara (North-West), Borno, Taraba (North-East), Nasarawa (North-Central), Ondo (South-West), Enugu (South-East), and Delta (South-South) fully accessed their funds.
In contrast, Kaduna failed to access ₦1.3 billion, Kano ₦581 million, and both Katsina and Kebbi ₦1.3 billion each in 2023. Adamawa and Bauchi together failed to access ₦1.3 billion, Gombe ₦1.3 billion, and Yobe the same amount. Benue, Kwara, and Niger collectively owed ₦2.6 billion, while Kogi, Plateau, and the FCT each left ₦1.3 billion unaccessed. Similarly, Ekiti and Lagos also failed to access ₦1.3 billion each, and Ogun did not access any funds.
In February 2024, Human rights lawyer Mrs. Funmi Falana (SAN) filed a lawsuit against the 36 state governments and the FCT at the Federal High Court in Lagos for not accessing ₦68 billion UBEC funds meant for free basic education. She cited the failure to pay the required counterpart funds as the reason.
The NGF’s Education Advisor, Dr. Ebenezer Leo The Great, mentioned that the difficulty in accessing UBEC funds stems from states’ inability to raise the 50% counterpart funding. He suggested legislative amendments to ease this requirement.
UBEC data shows over 47 million pupils are enrolled in 171,027 private and public primary and junior secondary schools across Nigeria. Public schools total 79,775, while private schools number 91,252. Enrollments include 7.2 million in Early Childhood facilities, 31.7 million in primary schools, and 8 million in Junior Secondary Schools. Teaching staff include 354,651 in Early Childhood facilities, 915,593 in primary schools, and 416,291 in Junior Secondary Schools.
Comrade Audu Titus Amba, National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, emphasized that accessing UBEC funds could significantly reduce the number of out-of-school children by 80%. However, without state governments providing their counterpart funding, these funds remain inaccessible, hampering the construction of schools, teacher training, and procurement of educational materials. The NUT is advocating for states to fulfill their financial obligations to access these funds.
