The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has revealed that over N135,540,905,308.92 billion in matching grants has not been accessed by states between 2020 and 2024.

The Executive Secretary of UBEC, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, disclosed this during his presentation of the 2023 and 2024 budget implementation report to the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education on Monday in Abuja.

Bobboyi clarified that the current year’s budget (2024) would be disbursed in the following year, which means that the allocated funds did not usually lapse, unlike funds allocated to other organisations.

He, however, expressed concern that many states had failed to meet the necessary conditions to access these funds, leaving much-needed resources untapped for educational development.