Falana Calls for Utilization of N267bn UBEC Funds for Education

Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer and Chair of the Alliance on Surviving Covid 19 and Beyond, has called on the governors of Nigeria's 36 states and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to utilize N267 billion in released intervention funds for basic education. He also urged them to access over N65 billion in counterpart funding that remains unutilized.

Falana's statement followed a disclosure by Dr. Aisha Garba, Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), at a workshop in Abuja aimed at improving budget planning for basic education. Falana referenced a Federal High Court ruling from November 28, 2025, which mandated that the Federal Government and all state governments must provide free, compulsory, and universal basic education for every Nigerian child of primary and junior secondary school age.

He emphasized the urgent need for action to ensure that these funds are utilized to fulfill this legal obligation and called for a daily meal program for schoolchildren to enhance enrollment and nutrition.