LUMINAH 2030 Initiative Migrates to UBEC, Targets Empowerment of 1m Girls

KuniTyessiin Abuja

The Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, has declared the formal migration of the LUMINAH 2030 Initiative from the Federal Ministry of Education to UBEC, saying it is a timely and necessary step to guarantee sustainability and long-term impact.

Launched in March 2025 and assisted by the World Bank, the project is to educate and economically empower over one million underserved girls and women across Nigeria by 2030.

Other objectives of the project are to provide vocational skills and financial support to female caregivers, establish flexible, safe learning centres for girls, promote gender-equitable education policies, and build a scalable, data-driven model for national adoption.

Speaking at the opening of a 5-Day programme on LUMINAH 2030-UBEC Migration and Establishment Agenda, in Abuja on Tuesday, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Aisha Garba said the initiative represents a bold national drive and is currently implemented in 12 states of the federation including Yobe and Taraba in the North East, Kano and Jigawa in the North West.

Others are Benue and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, in the North Central, Ebonyi and Anambra in the South East as well as Bayelsa and AkwaIbom States in the South-South.

Represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary, Technical, RazakAkinyemi, the UBEC boss commended the contributions of AGILE, the global support programme that has nurtured LUMINAH since inception and noted however that AGILE’s international framework has a limited lifespan.

According to her, embedding LUMINAH within UBEC ensures institutionalization, alignment with Nigeria’s education priorities, and a lasting legacy.

“By institutionalizing Lumina within UBEC, we ensure that it will not fade away, but endure. It is fully aligned with UBEC’s seven pillars in the 10-year roadmap (2021–2030) and the national education transformation agenda. Our expectations are clear: to deliver an inclusive, scalable, and data-driven model that reaches the most marginalized girls,” she said.

Garba outlined UBEC’s commitment to strong partnerships with state governments, civil society, the private sector, and local communities, while emphasizing accountability and measurable impact through rigorous monitoring and evaluation.

She urged participants to treat the migration process as more than a formality, but as a transformational moment that must yield concrete actions.

“Every educator trained, every caregiver empowered, and every community mobilized is a victory for Nigeria,” she added.

Speaking earlier, the National Coordinator of the LUMINAH initiative, AminaBuba, described the transfer of the programme’s implementation structure as a “strategic step towards sustainability and impact.”

Buba said the transition was not just an administrative shift but a deliberate move to strengthen the institutional framework needed to deliver on the initiative’s ambitious goal of educating and economically empowering at least one million underserved adolescent girls by the year 2030.

“With this migration to UBEC, we are embracing a more specialized and flexible system that will deepen stakeholder collaboration, enhance resource mobilization, and ultimately deliver measurable impact,” Buba noted.