The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has expressed strong concerns over the failure of state governments to utilize more than ₦250 billion in intervention funds allocated for improving basic education across Nigeria.
Dr. Aisha Garba, Executive Secretary of UBEC, disclosed this on Monday during the inauguration of a three-day Financial Management Training held in Abuja. The training brought together fund managers from all 36 State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), including Directors of Finance and Accounts, Heads of Internal Audit, and Matching Grant Desk Officers.
According to Dr. Garba, the funds—meant for enhancing infrastructure and improving teaching and learning in public schools, remain idle in government accounts due to delays in accessing the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Matching Grants and poor fund utilization at the state level.
She listed several challenges hindering the effective use of the funds, including non-compliance with utilization guidelines, diversion of funds, failure to remit taxes, and disregard for due process in awarding contracts for education projects.
“In a bid to address these challenges, I initiated the review of the Utilisation Guidelines, developed a new template for preparing SUBEB Action Plans, and approved various capacity-building programmes, both nationally and internationally, for UBEC and SUBEB personnel,” Dr. Garba stated.
She noted that these efforts have begun to yield results. Between January and June 2025, 25 states and the FCT accessed a total of ₦92.4 billion in matching grants. Additionally, ₦19 billion in Teacher Professional Development (TPD) funds was disbursed to 32 states and the FCT, while ₦1.5 billion under the School-Based Management Committee School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP) was allocated to 1,147 communities nationwide.
Despite these improvements, she emphasized that over ₦250 billion in UBE intervention funds remains unutilized, posing a significant setback to national educational progress.
“This training aims to equip fund managers with the necessary tools to improve fund access, utilization, oversight, and accountability,” Dr. Garba said. “It is essential that we move beyond simply securing funds to ensuring they are promptly and effectively used for the benefit of Nigerian children.”
UBEC’s renewed call for accountability underscores the federal government’s commitment to addressing inefficiencies and ensuring every child has access to quality basic education.
