State governments have retained N250 billion Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) funds they accessed instead of utilising the resources to develop basic education.
Executive Secretary Dr Aisha Garba disclosed the twist to the UBEC arrangement yesterday at a financial management training programme in Abuja.
The most common issue with the UBEC fund was the failure of states to provide counterpart funding to enable them to access it.
Dr. Garba, represented by Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Razaq Akinyemi, said: “The basic challenge remains not only accessing the remaining UBE Intervention Fund, but importantly, the slow utilisation of the Fund with over N250 billion still being retained as unutilised in the coffers of the 36 SUBEBS & FCT-UBEB as at today.”
UBEC is funded as a first-line charge from the collectable education tax and other sources.
It is made available to states after their counterpart funding for the development of basic education.
Lapses identified by the UBEC boss include slow access to the UBE Matching Grant, slow utilisation of the fund, non-compliance with the fund utilisation guidelines, diversion of funds, non-deduction and remittance of taxes, non-compliance with the due process in the award of contracts for the execution of basic education projects, non-adherence to the approved action plan, among others.
Garba emphasised that UBEC’s goal is to ensure that participants understand and carry out the very crucial responsibility of ensuring that every naira allocated to the UBE programme is accounted for and effectively utilised in ways that add value and have a positive impact on the learning outcomes of the Nigerian child.
The training is for state officials who are managing the universal basic education to enable them to widen their knowledge and develop better skills.
