At a time Nigeria is battling what global agencies describe as a full-blown education emergency, a staggering ₦97,881,553,326.94 earmarked for basic education is lying idle in government vaults across states.
The funds, meant to support primary and junior secondary education through the Universal Basic Education Commission framework, remain unaccessed largely due to the failure of state governments to provide counterpart funding, a prerequisite for drawing down the grants.
Documents exclusively obtained through a Freedom of Information request by a legal team led by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, show that at least 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory have failed to access their allocations as of March 2026.
This is despite Nigeria’s worsening education crisis, with the country now hosting the highest number of out-of-school children globally.
Crisis in numbers
Data from UNICEF, corroborated by Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education and cited in multiple policy briefs between 2024 and 2026, puts the number of out-of-school children at approximately 18.5 million the highest in the world.
UNICEF notes that this figure represents nearly one in every five out-of-school children globally, with the majority concentrated in northern Nigeria, though the crisis increasingly affects southern states due to economic hardship and infrastructure deficits.
According to UNICEF’s 2025 Education Fact Sheet on Nigeria, key drivers of the crisis include poverty, insecurity, cultural barriers, weak education financing, and poor governance at the sub-national level.
The agency warned that unless urgent investments are made in foundational education, Nigeria risks “a generational catastrophe” with long-term consequences for economic growth, national security and social cohesion.
Yet, even as millions of children remain out of school, billions meant to address the crisis remain untouched.
How funds work
Under the UBEC intervention framework established by the UBE Act of 2004, the Federal Government provides annual matching grants to states to support basic education development.
However, states are required to provide 50 per cent counterpart funding before they can access the grants a mechanism designed to ensure ownership, accountability and sustainability.
Findings show that this requirement has become a major bottleneck.
While some states have consistently met the condition, many others have failed to do so, leading to an accumulation of unaccessed funds year after year.
As of March 18, 2026, total unaccessed UBEC funds stood at ₦97.88 billion.
Further analysis reveals that 2025 recorded the highest default in the history of the scheme, with ₦68.1 billion left untouched in a single year.
Education policy analysts say this trend reflects a deeper governance problem.
Mapping the defaulters
The data analysis shows a concentration of defaults among a group of states with significant fiscal capacity, raising questions about priorities rather than resources.
Imo State tops the list with ₦10.6 billion in unaccessed funds. Ogun follows with ₦9.7 billion, while Rivers ranks third with ₦7.8 billion.
Other major defaulters include Niger, Abia and Oyo states, each with over ₦7.1 billion unaccessed.
The Federal Capital Territory also has ₦5.07 billion in idle funds, while Ekiti, Bayelsa and Adamawa states each account for over ₦3.5 billion.
In total, 21 states and the FCT failed to access their UBEC allocations a development expert describes as a “systemic failure of sub-national governance.”
‘Compliance is possible’
In contrast, 15 states have consistently accessed their UBEC funds in full.
These include Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba and Yobe in the North, as well as Benue, Delta, Enugu, Kogi, Ondo and Osun states.
Their compliance, experts say, demonstrates that the counterpart funding requirement is not inherently unworkable.
Rather, it highlights disparities in political will, fiscal discipline and prioritisation.
Falana reacts
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana criticised federal and state authorities for failing to guarantee free basic education to millions of Nigerian children, despite existing laws and court rulings.
In a statement, Falana said the Child’s Rights Act (2003) and the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act (2004) clearly provide for free and mandatory education for children at primary and junior secondary levels across the country.
He, however, lamented that many state governments and the Federal Capital Territory had failed to access over ₦97 billion available under the Universal Basic Education Commission fund as of March 2026.
“As of March 2026, the authorities of many state governments and the Federal Capital Territory have refused to access over N97bn from the Universal Basic Education Commission Fund. Apart from not accessing the UBE matching grant, some state governments have failed to properly utilise the funds for the purpose of development of infrastructure and improvement of the teaching and learning conditions in primary and junior secondary schools across the country,” Falana said.
“In spite of several judgments of the Ecowas Court and the Federal High Court, which have upheld the right of every Nigerian child to mandatory and free universal basic education, Nigeria has about 20 million out-of-school children. The members of the ruling class have consigned the children of poor citizens to illiteracy and ignorance.”
He explained that while the Federal Government provides funding through UBEC, states are required to contribute counterpart funding to access the grants, a condition many have not met.
Falana further alleged that even when funds are accessed, some states fail to deploy them effectively toward improving infrastructure and learning conditions in public schools.
“Some state governments have failed to properly utilise the funds for the development of infrastructure and improvement of teaching and learning conditions,” he stated.
The senior advocate also decried the rising number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, which he put at about 20 million, despite multiple court rulings affirming every child’s right to education.
“The members of the ruling class have consigned the children of poor citizens to illiteracy and ignorance,” he said.
Falana added that his team had formally requested information from the Universal Basic Education Commission on states’ compliance with the law, noting that the response had been received and reviewed.
He called for urgent action to ensure that all Nigerian children have access to free and compulsory basic education as guaranteed by law.
The PUNCH