By Oso Abidemi
A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared local governments an autonomous third tier of government and nullified key provisions of the Universal Basic Education (UBE), Act, 2004, that placed Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs), under state control.
In a judgment delivered on October 13, 2025, Justice Emeka Nwite ruled that local governments are distinct and autonomous under the 1999 Constitution and cannot be treated as appendages of state governments.
The court consequently struck down Sections 11(3) and 13(1) of the UBE Act, describing them as inconsistent with Sections 7(1) and (5) and Item 2(a) of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution.
The court ordered that local governments, through their LGEAs, must pay their counterpart funds and access UBE grants directly from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), without going through State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs). Justice Nwite stressed that LGEAs “shall,” not “may,” receive the funds directly.
Justice Nwite further directed UBEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation to formally notify all 37 SUBEBs and the 774 LGEAs nationwide of the ruling within three months, with the compliance deadline set for January 14, 2026.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1536/2020, was filed by Sesugh Akume against UBEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation, challenging the constitutionality of channeling federal education funds through SUBEBs.
The ruling effectively ends the long-standing practice where states applied for and administered UBE funds on behalf of local governments, a system widely blamed for unclaimed funds and poor service delivery.
UBEC has previously reported that hundreds of billions of naira in UBE funds remain unaccessed, despite Nigeria having about 18 million out-of-school children.
The court also held that while states may legislate on local government administration, such laws must strictly align with constitutional provisions and cannot subject local governments or their agencies to state supervision.
