Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has called on the National Assembly to amend the Constitution to empower the Accountant-General of the Federation to deduct the counterpart fund payable by every state government to the Universal Basic Education Fund (UBEC). Falana made this call during an out-of-school summit convened by the IA-Foundation in Lagos.

He emphasized that enforcing the counterpart fund payable by every state government to UBEC would play a crucial role in eradicating illiteracy in the country. Falana commended the IA-Foundation for its commitment to removing out-of-school children and enrolling them in school.

He also pointed out that the refusal of state governments to provide counterpart funding and access the annual matching grants from UBEC has been a major concern. Many state governments have failed to contribute their counterpart funds, leading to funds allocated to basic education going unused. Falana’s proposal seeks to address this issue by allowing the Accountant-General of the Federation to deduct the counterpart fund from state governments’ accounts and remit it to UBEC. This would help ensure that funds allocated for education are used effectively and help increase school enrollment in the country.