FG APPROVES OVER N3.5 BILLION FOR UBEC

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The Federal Government on Thursday approved an increase in the statutory allocation of Universal Basic Education matching grants accessible by state governments for infrastructural projects, raising the amount to N3,554,642,584.46.

The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, Hamid Bobboyi, announced this during a five-day financial training session for SUBEB Chairmen and Board Secretaries in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

A statement by the UBEC Public Relations Officer, David Apeh, quoted the executive secretary as saying that the increased matching grants for states to implement projects come from 2% of the consolidated revenue fund allocated to support basic education in Nigeria.

Bobboyi stated that the approval followed the passage of the 2024 Appropriation Bill and its subsequent assent into law.

He said, “The 2024 Federal Government Statutory Allocation of the UBE matching grant to each state is N3,554,642,584.46.

“The grant complies with Section 11 (2) of the UBEC Act, 2004, while state governments are required to provide an equivalent amount of N3,554,642,584.46 as a counterpart fund to execute the 1st to 4th Quarters, 2024 UBE intervention projects.”

The executive secretary explained that states previously received about N1.3 billion per year as matching grants, but this amount has now been increased to N3.3 billion.

Bobboyi, therefore, urged state governments that have yet to access the 2023 matching grant with the commission, amounting to N1,395,784,959.14 as of 1 July 2024, to do so.

“This is quite an impressive amount, isn’t it? You know the amount we had before. Of course, we also have to consider that inflation has affected the grants. But at the same time, I think it’s very encouraging to see that the available amount is substantial for states. When a state contributes an additional N3.3 billion, it essentially receives about N6.6 billion. Isn’t it? In that regard, it’s quite a reasonable amount if applied well.”

He explained that around 46 million children were in schools across the country, adding that, according to the Sustainable Development Goals, basic education ends at the secondary school level.

He also acknowledged the significant challenges facing the commission and all state SUBEBs, urging them to work together to reduce the number of out-of-school children in each state.

The meeting was attended by SUBEB chairmen, permanent secretaries, and executive secretaries from across the nation.