The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has expressed deep concern over the continued failure of many state governments to access and utilize over N250 billion in federal intervention funds meant to revamp basic education across the country.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday during a press briefing, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, lamented that despite the growing infrastructure and learning gaps in public primary and junior secondary schools, these funds remain idle due to states’ inability—or unwillingness—to meet the necessary counterpart funding requirements.
“These are funds meant to provide classrooms, furniture, learning materials, and training for teachers. But what we see instead are dilapidated structures and overburdened classrooms in many states, while these funds lie fallow,” Bobboyi said.
According to UBEC, each state is expected to contribute 50 percent of the required amount as counterpart funding to access the federal allocation. However, many states have failed to do so consistently over the years, effectively locking away these crucial funds.
As of July 2025, UBEC revealed that N46.2 billion in matching grants from 2022 alone is still sitting unused, with some states yet to access funds dating back to 2021. This situation, education experts say, is contributing to Nigeria’s deepening learning crisis, especially in rural areas where school infrastructure and resources are already stretched thin.
Bobboyi warned that failure to draw down these funds not only hampers the development of education but also undermines efforts to achieve national targets like the Universal Basic Education goals and Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on inclusive and quality education.
He urged civil society, traditional leaders, and the media to hold state governments accountable for the neglect, saying: “Basic education is too important to be politicized or abandoned. These are funds already available, but they are rendered inaccessible due to bureaucracy, lack of political will, or misaligned priorities.”
While some states have made progress in accessing and utilizing their grants, the UBEC boss called for a more transparent, coordinated effort to ensure that no child is denied quality education simply because of leadership failure.
UBEC reiterated its commitment to supporting states that demonstrate seriousness and readiness to invest in the education of their children.
