UBEC set to disburse N142.6b to states

About N142.6 billion is to be disbursed by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for provision of needed facilities in public primary and junior secondary schools in the country.

The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, who made this known during a chat with newsmen in Abuja yesterday, said 50 per cent of the money (N71.3 billion) was deducted by the Federal Government from the Paris Club Refund accrued to states, and the other 50 per cent was the marching grant from the commission.

“By the next three, four months or at most five months, we will have no un-accessed funds in UBEC. I am making the promise because the Federal Government found it (un-accessed fund) inappropriate and discussed it with the states and deducted from the Paris Club refund the entire amount owed by the states up to 31 of August 2017.

“The Federal Government will credit the account of UBEC with about N71.3 billion, which is the amount that is there. We are going to add the marching grant, and so the states are going to get N142.6 billion,” Bobboyi said.

The UBEC boss told journalists that the commission had successfully conducted head count of teachers and pupils in primary and secondary schools across the country, the result would be formally announced by 28 February 2019.

While calling for concerted efforts to address the problem of out-of-school children in the country, Bobboyi said the commission was mobilising resources and churning out policies to reposition the basic education sub-sector.

The UBEC’s Director in charge of Academic Service, Mr. Wadata Madawaki, said 7.3 million textbooks were procured for primary 4-6 and distributed under the 2015/2016 intervention by the commission.

Madawaki, who also listed several other academic standard activities carried out by UBEC in 2018, said N165 million was allocated to each state and FCT for the teachers professional development programme.