UBEC Bottlenecks: Tinubu Intervenes, Approves New Plan

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken decisive action to address persistent challenges within the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), approving a new strategy to unblock fund utilisation and project implementation delays.

The plan features updated data and projections that show how the intervention funds could significantly improve basic education outcomes in over 30 states expected to benefit from the initiative.

To this end, the President has initiated efforts to unlock over N263 billion in basic education funds that have remained unaccessed by 34 states under the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) matching grants.

The move aims to enable several state governments to access federal funds dating back to 2020, clearing a five-year backlog through UBEC, and revitalising Nigeria’s basic education sector.

Following his return from Paris last week, it was gathered that President Tinubu approved a comprehensive plan submitted by the Minister of Education.

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The plan, developed by Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, and endorsed, also outlines how each state can use the funds to improve primary education.

This includes targeted measures such as teacher training, classroom construction, safe learning environments, and reducing out-of-school children, all tailored to each state’s needs.

Consequently, state governors have begun receiving direct communications from the Minister of Education. These communications detail the scale of out-of-school children and other basic education challenges in their states and explain how federal funds can directly address these issues.

According to a presidential source, President Tinubu plans to “positively arm-twist” state governments into urgently accessing the UBEC funds, as many states have previously ignored these funds, often citing an inability to raise the necessary counterpart contributions.

Previously, while states failed to provide matching funds, the federal government had taken a passive approach, accepting the states’ excuses.

However, the Aso Villa source explained that the Education Minister has adopted a proactive stance, presenting governors with concrete data on how the funds could lead to transformative change and initiating direct correspondence with each of them.

For instance, a copy of a letter addressed to the Ogun State Governor and obtained by Empowered Newswire revealed that Ogun has not accessed UBEC funds since 2020. In the letter dated April 24, 2025, the Minister stated that Ogun State is entitled to N7,816,600,698.99 in unaccessed funds for 2020–2024.

To access the funds, the Minister urged Governor Dapo Abiodun to provide an equal counterpart amount in line with Section 11, Subsection 2 of the UBE Act 2004.

In the letter, the Minister emphasised the critical nature of the funds: “Your Excellency, these funds are essential for expanding quality education in Ogun State by constructing new schools in underserved communities and addressing other gaps, including rehabilitating 5,126 classrooms, constructing 1,299 school fences, 996 toilets, 1,016 boreholes, and training 14,772 teachers.

These investments have significantly reduced the burden of 182,596 out-of-school children, increased primary and JSS enrolment from the current 79% and 59%, respectively, and improved access to safe, effective learning environments.

Additionally, they will help advance foundational literacy beyond the current 35%.”

As of December 2024, 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory had yet to access the N263,043,551,250.30 Universal Basic Education matching grants allocated for the year.

Only Katsina and Kaduna had accessed their 2024 first and second-quarter grants. Meanwhile, in February 2025, nine states finally settled a cumulative debt of N37 billion, enabling them to tap into long-dormant funds.

According to data from UBEC, by January 2025, the states that had paid their counterpart funds included Borno, which cleared N3,554,642,564.46 for the full 2024 year, and Jigawa, which matched the same amount.

Kano paid N1,777,321,282.23 for the first and second quarters, while Ondo, Nasarawa, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa each cleared the full-year amount of N3,554,642,564.46. Plateau paid N4,950,427,543.60 for 2023 and 2024, and Katsina settled N1,777,321,282.23 for the first and second quarters 2024.

Looking back to December 2023, a N64 billion UBEC fund designed to enhance access to quality basic education remained untouched due to the continued failure of state governments to meet their counterpart obligations.