News

Probe ‘N7bn Missing From UBEC, SUBEBs’, SERAP Tells Buhari

Published

4 years ago

February 22, 2021

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari “to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN to work with appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly probe allegations of corruption in the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) between 2004 and 2020, including missing N3,836,685,213.13 documented in the 2017 Annual Report by the Auditor-General of the Federation.”
The organization also urged him to “direct Mr Malami and the anticorruption agencies to make public the outcome of any investigation, and to prosecute suspected perpetrators if there is relevant admissible evidence, as well as fully recover any missing public funds.”
In the open letter dated February 20, 2021 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said, “Allegations of corruption in UBEC and SUBEBs violate the right to education of millions of Nigerian children who continue to face unsuitable learning conditions, as shown by the poor learning and boarding facilities at the Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State, where dozens of schoolchildren, teachers and their relatives were abducted by gunmen.”
SERAP said, “Investigating the allegations of corruption and mismanagement in UBEC and SUBEBs, prosecuting suspected perpetrators and recovering any missing public funds would contribute to addressing the education crisis in the country, which has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable and marginalized, and entrenched inequality.”
SERAP also urged President Buhari to “ensure prompt investigation into the spending of money budgeted for the Safe School Initiative since 2014, including N3.2billion from the Federal Government and private donors meant to ensure a safer school environment for children, and to clean-up an apparently entrenched system of corruption in the education sector.”
According to SERAP, “Many years of unresolved allegations of corruption and mismanagement in UBEC and SUBEBs have resulted in decreasing quality of education for poor children while many politicians send their own children to the best private schools in the country and abroad, and thereby leaving behind generations of poor children.”
The letter, read in part, “We would be grateful if your government would indicate the measures being taken to address the allegations and to implement the proposed recommendations within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter.
“If we have not heard from you by then as to the steps being taken in this direction, the Incorporated Trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to implement these recommendations in the in public interest, and to promote transparency and accountability in UBEC and SUBEBs.
“Allegations of corruption in UBEC and SUBEBs undermine public confidence in the education sector, lead to the erosion of education quality and access, and if not urgently addressed will lead to an increase in out-of-school children, and exacerbate educational inequalities in the country.
“According to the 2017 Annual Report by the Auditor-General of the Federation, UBEC spent ¦ 7,712,000.00 to engage external solicitors between January to December, 2015, without due process and the approval of the Attorney General of the Federation. UBEC also reportedly failed to explain the nature of the legal services rendered.”
The Auditor-General is concerned UBEC may have engaged ‘unqualified solicitors.’
“The Plateau State Universal Basic Education Board also reportedly failed to account for ¦ 37,200,000.00 despite repeated requests by the Auditor-General. The Plateau SUBEB also spent ¦ 9,709,989 without any payment vouchers. The SUBEB spent ¦ 1,607,007,353.72 Special Intervention funds by the Federal Government without any documents.”
“The Plateau SUBEB also paid ¦ 10,341,575.00 to various contractors without evidence of advance payment guarantee. The SUBEB paid ¦ 70,569,471.00 through cheques to a staff, in violation of the Federal Government e-payment policy. The SUBEB also failed to explain the purpose of the payment. It spent ¦ 120,948,000.00 on professional development of teachers but failed to retire and account for the money.
“The Imo State Universal Basic Education Board reportedly spent N482, 560,000.00 as mobilization fees to some contractors without due process, and any advance payment guarantee. The contracts were funded from the Matching Grant Account. The Auditor-General stated that the contractors selected lacked ‘the financial capacity to handle the contracts.’ The SUBEB has also failed to account for ¦ 140,774,702.12 of project fund since 2015.
“The Kano State Universal Basic Education Board reportedly paid ¦ 71,263,000.15 to contractors without due process and without open competitive bidding. Similarly, the Ebonyi State Universal Basic Education Board paid ¦ 569,758,938.00 to ‘unqualified contractors and companies’ for the reconstruction and renovation of classrooms. The Ebonyi SUBEB also spent ¦ 10,123,892.46 to buy store items but without any documents.
“The Gombe State Universal Basic Education Board paid ¦ 31,822,600.00 to a staff from its teachers’ professional development funds but failed to account for the money. The Auditor-General is concerned that ‘the payment is fictitious’, and that ‘the funds did not benefit the intended beneficiaries.’ The SUBEB also reportedly paid ¦ 41, 277,983.00 as cash advance to staff to ‘buy some materials and for press coverage but failed to account for the money.’
“SERAP is concerned about allegations of widespread and systemic corruption, misappropriation and mismanagement within UBEC and several SUBEBs, the failure to investigate these allegations, and to recover any missing public funds. The Federal Government bears responsibility for ensuring that every Nigerian child has access to quality education in conducive learning environment, and to safeguard education as a public good.
“Your government’s responsibility to guarantee and ensure the right to quality education for every Nigerian child is interlinked with the responsibility under Section 15(5) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) to ‘abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of office.’ This imposes a fundamental obligation to investigate the missing public funds from UBEC and SUBEBs, to prosecute suspected perpetrators, recover the money, and to remove opportunities for corruption in these institutions.
“Access to quality education would empower children to be full and active participants in society, able to exercise their rights and engage in civil and political life.
“Any failure to promptly and thoroughly investigate the allegations and prosecute suspected perpetrators, and to recover the missing public funds would breach Nigeria’s anti-corruption legislation, the Nigerian Constitution, the UN Convention against Corruption, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Nigeria is a state party.
“The letter is copied to Mr Malami; Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof Bolaji Owasanoye; and Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Mohammed Abba”, SERAP argued.

News

Shettima In Ethiopia For State Visit

Published

20 hours ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.

Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.

Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”

During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.

The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.

In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.

News

RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers

Published

21 hours ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.

This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.

The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.

The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.

Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.

The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.

He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.

According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.

At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.

He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.

Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.

According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.

At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.

He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.

Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.

He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.

However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.

At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.

He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.

Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.

Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.

In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.

At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.

Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.

Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.

John Bibor

News

Tinubu Orders Civil Service Personnel Audit, Skill Gap Analysis

Published

22 hours ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.

The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.

“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.

Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.

He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.

“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.

President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.

He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.

“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.

“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.

Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.

Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.

She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.

Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.