Aisha Garba: Tinubu Hailed for UBEC’s Boss Appointment as Stakeholders Praise Reforms
- A coalition of education stakeholders has praised President Tinubu for appointing Dr. Aisha Garba as UBEC executive secretary
- The group noted that her leadership has improved school access for out-of-school children and removed bureaucratic bottlenecks that hindered states from accessing UBEC grants
- Social commentator JJ Omojuwa and other Nigerians also applauded Garba’s impact, citing record fund utilisation, book distribution, among others
Abuja, FCT - A coalition of education-focused activists and social entrepreneurs has commended President Bola Tinubu for appointing Dr. Aisha Garba as the executive secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), crediting her with delivering impactful reforms in Nigeria’s primary education sector.
The coalition, under the aegis of the Education and Tech Coalition of Activists and Social Entrepreneurs, said Dr. Garba’s leadership had transformed access to education across the country.
Source: Facebook
In a joint statement on Monday, August 4, by its co-chairs, Olaonipekun Kazeem of the Focus Teens Foundation and Olamide Apejoye of Developing Engineering Leaders, the group praised Tinubu for recruiting Garba from the World Bank, calling the move a bold signal of his administration’s commitment to education.
Coalition: Reforms bringing out-of-school Children back to classrooms
According to the coalition, UBEC, under the leadership of Ms Garba, has implemented reforms that have directly impacted basic education across the country.
"Out-of-school children are returning to classrooms, and some are accessing school for the first time,” the statement read.
The coalition also noted improvements in the quality of teaching and learning, citing upgrades in educational tools and teaching methods aimed at boosting student outcomes.
Omojuwa: Reforms unlock stalled education funds
Meanwhile, social commentator and Alpha Reach founder, JJ Omojuwa, echoed the praise in a post on social media platform X. He highlighted Garba’s role in unlocking state access to long-delayed UBEC matching grants.
His words:
“For two decades, an ordinary document created a stumbling block for states to access matching grants. This meant stalled access to education for many children. Aisha changed that!”
Omojuwa added:
“She reformed the system by removing long-standing bureaucratic cogs and helped to open access to the states, which are now able to do a lot more than ever as they plug into the UBEC matching grants.
“This has led to over 60% fund utilisation - a record, impacted about 3 million children, led to the distribution of 6 million books to primary schools nationwide, about half a million library materials and other such interventions. States now feel more like partners in education development with the FG, all thanks to reforms led by Dr Aisha Garba.”
Omojuwa also pointed to Garba’s prior experience managing a $3 billion education portfolio at the World Bank, covering projects in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Somalia, and other countries.
Source: Twitter
“Despite being a few months in office, her reforms are already influencing the country’s educational development,” he said.
Other Nigerians on social media have also applauded Ms Garba’s performance. One user, @MaziNnaEmeka, posted:
“She didn’t come in to play politics, she came in to work... breaking 20-year barriers.”
@HighChiefOkoro added:
“This is what purposeful leadership looks like. No noise, just results. @AishaMGarba is proving that with the right competence and vision, even the most rigid systems can be reformed for impact.
Tinubu approves plan to disburse UBEC backlog funds
In a related development, President Tinubu has reportedly approved a new strategy by the Ministry of Education to release hundreds of billions of naira in unaccessed UBEC funds to state governments.
The plan, developed by the minister of education, Tunji Alausa, uses state-specific data to show governors how the funds can transform basic education through improved infrastructure, teacher training, and reduced out-of-school rates.
States like Ogun have been formally notified of their entitlements, with the federal government urging them to provide matching funds to unlock the grants.
Source: Legit.ng
