The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has declared two sections of the Universal Basic Education Act, 2004 unconstitutional, null and void, and ordered that the 774 local governments across Nigeria be allowed to access education funds directly from the Universal Basic Education Commission without passing through State Universal Basic Education Boards.
Justice Emeka Nwite, in a judgment delivered on October 13, 2025, held that Sections 11(3) and 13(1) of the UBE Act are inconsistent with Sections 7(1) and (5), and the 4th and 5th Schedule Item 2(a) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The court declared that local government is the third and 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 or extension of the state government.
The suit was instituted by one Sesugh Akume via an Originating Summons filed on November 17, 2020, against the Universal Basic Education Commission and the Attorney General of the Federation as respondents.
The applicant had challenged the provisions of the UBE Act which channel education funds through State Universal Basic Education Boards rather than directly to Local Government Education Authorities, arguing that this arrangement undermines local government autonomy guaranteed by the Constitution.
In granting the reliefs sought, Justice Nwite held that by making Local Government Education Authorities subject to the control of SUBEBs, the UBE Act effectively removes primary education from the independent purview of the local government.
The court noted that the Constitution guarantees local governments participatory role in primary education, but the UBE Act reduces this to subordinate administrative duty, contrary to Section 162 of the Constitution which recognizes local governments as direct beneficiaries of the Federation Account.
Justice Nwite referenced the Supreme Court decision in Attorney General of the Federation v. Attorney General of Abia State (2024) which held that the Constitution does not give states any right or interest in local government allocations from the Federation Account, and that states have exploited their constitutional role to create an unconstitutional status quo that endangered local government existence as a third tier of governance.
The court noted that about 13.5 million children are out of school as reported by the UBEC chairman, describing the situation as very worrisome and attributing part of the problem to the subordination of local governments to state-controlled boards which denies LGAs direct financial control and dilutes their constitutional mandates in primary education.
The court ordered the respondents to communicate the judgment to all 37 Universal Basic Education Boards and 774 Local Government Education Authorities within three months of the judgment.
The applicant was represented by Rodney Adzuanaga Esq, J.I. Gbimgbande Esq, and Gwaza L. Shange Esq, while Maimuna Lami Shiru Esq, Olubanke Odulana Esq, O. Fajulaye Esq, and O. Bajuliaye Esq appeared for the Attorney General of the Federation. UBEC had no legal representation despite being served court processes.