The Federal Government has allocated N441,923,867,349 to the Universal Basic Education Commission for the 2026 fiscal year, with the funding intended to cover the agency’s full operations. Of this amount, N427,818,822,774, or 97.3 percent, is designated for personnel costs, while only N12,105,400,575, representing 2.7 percent, is set aside for capital projects. This information appears in the summary of the N58.18 trillion Appropriation Bill presented by Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly. The extensive 2,790-page document, prepared by the Budget Office of the Federation, outlines allocations for all federal ministries, departments, and agencies, including UBEC.
The document shows that all listed UBEC projects are ongoing, having commenced in previous years. The largest allocation, N2.8 billion, is for constructing and furnishing a block of six classrooms across the country’s senatorial districts, while no other single project reaches N1 billion. Projects receiving relatively higher funding of around N700 million include the distribution of instructional materials nationwide, the construction of classroom blocks in nine local government areas within Borno South senatorial district, and the building and furnishing of two-storey classroom blocks with toilets in Kato and other selected locations. Another nationwide initiative involves constructing four classroom blocks across the six geopolitical zones at a total cost of N490 million, while smaller allocations focus mainly on renovating school buildings and supplying furniture and learning materials.
However, some items in the budget appear either unclear or outside UBEC’s core mandate. These include solar streetlight installations in various communities such as Plateau North, Osun State, and Bakori/Danja Federal Constituency, as well as the provision of laptops to tertiary institutions in Sokoto State and financial support for higher education students in Cross River State. There is also an allocation for educational development in unspecified schools in Lagos East.
UBEC’s primary responsibility as a federal agency is to coordinate and implement programmes at the primary and junior secondary levels, aiming to deliver free, quality education to Nigerian children, reduce illiteracy and poverty, and support national development, working in partnership with state governments through their Universal Basic Education Boards.
