Philip Agbese, a member of the House of Representatives, has raised concerns over what he described as a \u201cgradual erosion of institutional integrity\u201d within the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the sidelines of a joint legislative retreat on the UBE Act Amendment Bill 2025 in Lagos on Thursday, Agbese, who represents Ado\/Okpokwu\/Ogbadigbo federal constituency of Benue, said key provisions of the UBEC Act were being violated through unilateral decisions that undermine transparency, accountability, and the morale of staff within the agency.<\/p>\n
Recall that the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Aisha Garba, who assumed office in December 2024 following her appointment by President Bola Tinubu, had publicly said that tackling the crisis of Nigeria\u2019s 10.5 million out-of-school children would be the central focus of her administration.<\/p>\n
However, Agbese alleges that her goal may be on the verge of being imperilled owning to the style of leadership adopted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re beginning to observe a creeping autocracy that has no place in a statutory agency like UBEC. Leadership in a federal agency demands respect for internal processes, institutions, and statutory roles, not a command-and-control structure driven by personal convictions alone,\u201d Agbese said.<\/p>\n
According to him, lawmakers had been briefed on multiple troubling developments, including the implementation of a new organogram without formal approval by the UBEC Governing Board, as required under Section 6(h) of the UBE Act.<\/p>\n
Agbese, who also doubles as the deputy spokesperson at the House of Rep, said the decision to restructure the Commission\u2019s reporting lines without due consultation was both irregular and legally questionable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not just about bureaucracy, it\u2019s about legality. We have confirmed that a new organogram was introduced without the knowledge or approval of the board. That\u2019s a breach. It must be suspended pending proper review by the National Assembly and the board itself,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n
The lawmaker also expressed dismay over the deployment of officers from other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) into senior UBEC roles, allegedly bypassing qualified internal staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t claim to be building capacity when you\u2019re simultaneously destroying institutional memory. Bringing in outsiders to head key departments while competent UBEC staff are sidelined violates the spirit of Section 10(1) and (3) of the UBE Act. It\u2019s demoralising and destabilising,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n
Agbese said the most alarming trend is the reported marginalisation of the two Deputy Executive Secretaries (DES), whose statutory roles are being \u201cdeliberately undermined\u201d in what he described as a \u201cworrying power consolidation\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Executive Secretary is said to be taking all decisions unilaterally. The DESs are barely consulted. Their statutory responsibilities under Section 5(2) and (3) have been reduced to ceremonial roles. That\u2019s not how UBEC was designed to function,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The lawmaker maintained that the over-centralisation of authority has created operational bottlenecks, slowed down programme delivery, and delayed payments for completed constituency projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoutine approvals are stuck because nothing moves unless it comes from the Executive Secretary\u2019s table. Contractors are not being paid for projects completed as far back as February. That\u2019s unacceptable and is now beginning to affect the reputation of National Assembly members who facilitated those interventions,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
Agbese called on the federal government to intervene urgently and re-establish proper oversight mechanisms to restore internal efficiency and rule-based governance at UBEC.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me be clear\u2014we are not opposed to reforms. We welcome any effort to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria. But no reform can succeed in an environment of opacity, sidelining, and institutional arrogance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He recommended an immediate performance audit of UBEC\u2019s leadership and delegation practices, a halt to further external staff deployments, and a directive for the Governing Board to meet and review all structural changes implemented since December.<\/p>\n
The lawmaker also revealed that the House Committee on Basic Education may summon Garba for a closed-door briefing on the state of affairs at the Commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not allow any public institution to drift into impunity under our watch. If the Executive Secretary has nothing to hide, then she should have no problem answering these questions,\u201d Agbese said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t afford a technocratic dictatorship under the guise of reform. Nigeria\u2019s education system is too fragile for that,\u201d the lawmaker added.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n