In a significant shift from past practice, the Federal Government has begun moves to release hundreds of billions of naira in backlog from Universal Basic Education (UBE) funds to states.The funds, which date back to 2020 during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term, have remained untouched by many states due to their failure to pay counterpart funding.
President Bola Tinubu, on his return from Paris last week, approved a plan presented by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa. The plan details how the funds can improve basic education across more than 30 states. According to a Presidency source, the new strategy aims to push governors to act by showing them exactly how the funds can help solve key problems—like training teachers, building classrooms, creating safer learning spaces, and reducing the number of out-of-school children.
The Minister has started sending letters to governors, highlighting the challenges in their states and the unassessed funds available to them. The letter includes specific data on out-of-school children and infrastructure gaps.
“The idea is to ‘positively arm-twist’ the governors,” the source said. “Many of them have ignored these funds over the years because of the counterpart funding requirement. But this time, the FG is not folding its arms.”
For instance, in a letter to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, the Minister revealed that the state has not accessed UBE funds worth over N7.8 billion between 2020 and 2024. The state must provide an equal amount as required under Section 11(2) of the UBE Act 2004 to access it.
Similar letters have been sent to other affected states, urging them to take advantage of the opportunity.
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