A landmark judgment by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has handed local governments authority to access funds for primary and junior secondary education directly from the Federal Government, without routing such funds through state governments.
The judgement, delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite on October 13, effectively ends the long-standing practice where State Universal Basic Education Boards, SUBEBs, applied for and managed Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, funds on behalf of local governments.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1536/2020, was instituted by Sesugh Akume through an originating summons filed on November 17, 2020, against UBEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation as respondents.
Akume asked the court to determine, among other issues, whether the local government system under the 1999 Constitution is an autonomous third tier of government or merely an appendage of state governments, and whether Section 11(2) of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act, 2004, which places control of UBEC funds in the hands of SUBEBs, is consistent with the Constitution.
In its ruling, the court affirmed that local governments are constitutionally autonomous and not extensions of state governments, adding that treating local governments as appendages of states undermines constitutional intent and weakens grassroots governance.
Consequentrly, the court declared Sections 11(2) and (3) of the UBE Act, 2004 inconsistent with Sections 7(1) and (5) and Item 2(a) of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, as well as other relevant provisions of the Act, and therefore null and void to the extent of their inconsistency.
Under the new legal position, any local government that fulfils the statutory requirements can now pay its counterpart funding and apply directly to UBEC for access to basic education funds, without interference from state governments or SUBEBs.
In a second major pronouncement, the court removed Local Government Education Authorities, LGEAs, from the control and supervision of SUBEBs, ruling that LGEAs must operate under the authority of their respective local governments.
Justice Nwite also ordered UBEC to formally communicate the implications of the judgment to all SUBEBs and the 774 LGEAs nationwide no later than January 14, 2026, to ensure uniform implementation.
“A DECLARATION is hereby made that the local government system is the third and an autonomous tier of government originated by the Constitution and administered by laws enacted by the House of Assembly, in accordance with the Constitution and not an appendage and/or extension of the state government.
“AN ORDER and DECLARATION is hereby made that section 11(3) and 13(1) of the UBE Act (2004) are inconsistent with sections 7(1) and (5), and the 5th Schedule item 2(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) and therefore constitutional, null and void.
“AN ORDER and DECLARATION is hereby made that local governments shall individually through their respective Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAS) pay up their counterpart funds and access funds directly from the 1st Respondent without hindrance or through the State Universal Basic Education Board.
“AN ORDER is hereby made compelling the Respondents to communicate (3) above to all 37 Universal Basic Education Board, and Local Government 774 Local Government Education Authorities within three months of this judgment,” he ruled.
The 32-page judgment devoted its first 16 pages to dismissing preliminary objections raised by the respondents, including challenges to the applicant’s locus standi and the court’s jurisdiction.
The substantive reasoning commenced from page 17, while the court’s binding orders are contained on pages 31 and 32.
The ruling comes against the backdrop of deep-seated challenges in Nigeria’s basic education sector, including an estimated 18 million out-of-school children, overcrowded classrooms, and widespread dilapidation of school infrastructure.
These problems have persisted despite reports that hundreds of billions of naira remain un-accessed at UBEC, largely due to many states’ failure to provide the required matching grants.
The judgment marks a significant step towards genuine local government autonomy and could unlock stalled education funding, improve accountability, and accelerate education interventions at the community level.
It is expected that by removing state-level bottlenecks, the decision will be a major legal milestone in reshaping the financing and management of basic education across Nigeria.
