Falana Bemoans Neglect of Basic Education, as States Fail to Access Over N97bn UBEC Funds

Uchechukwu Nnaike

A senior lawyer and human rights advocate, Femi Falana, has blamed some state government’s neglect for the basic education for the alarming rate of out-of-school children in the country, which is estimated at 20 million.

A document he obtained from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in response to his request for information on the compliance of state governments with the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act showed that as of March 2026, many state governments and the Federal Capital Territory had refused to access over N97 billion from the Universal Basic Education Commission Fund.

Apart from not accessing the UBE matching grant, Falana regretted that some state governments had 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.

The UBEC document, signed by the Legal Adviser, Mrs. Ademola S.A, provided details of un-accessed matching grants from 2021 to 2025.
In 2021, only Imo state failed to access its grant of N946,646,664.48. In 2022, Imo and Ogun States did not access N1,204,452,353.76 each.
In 2023, Imo and Ogun refused to access N1,395,784,959.14 each; Rivers State did not access N697,892,479.57, while Niger State had 237,312.90 un-accessed funds.

In 2024, Abia, Imo, Niger, Ogun, Oyo and Rivers States failed to access N3,554,642,584.46 each; Ekiti State still had N54,642,584.46 un-accessed, while the FCT had N1,522,793,887.46 un-accessed.

For 2025, only 15 states had accessed their funds. States like Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Rivers and FCT were yet to access N3,554,642,584.46 each; Gombe and Kano have N1,876,121,485.57 un-accessed funds; while Kwara and Zamfara still have N197,600,386.69 un-accessed.

In a press statement, Falana cited the provisions of the Child’s Rights Act and the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act, both of which guarantee free and mandatory education for children at primary and junior secondary levels across the country.
“Under the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act, the Federal Government contributes a block grant equivalent to 2% of its Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to support basic education while state governments are required to provide a 50% matching grant (counterpart funding) to access this federal allocation,” Falana said.
He regretted that many state governments and the Federal Capital Territory had failed to meet the requirements needed to access the funds.
The development has renewed concerns about the implementation of Nigeria’s education policies and the widening gap in access to basic education, particularly among disadvantaged populations.
The senior advocate further lamented that despite multiple rulings by both the ECOWAS Court and the Federal High Court affirming the right of every Nigerian child to free education, the country still had an estimated 20 million out-of-school children, one of the highest figures globally.
He blamed what he termed the “ruling class” for neglecting the educational needs of children from low-income families, effectively condemning them to a future of illiteracy and limited opportunities.