The National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children’s Education says it did not conceive the controversial projects itemised in its budget.
Details of the 2026 Appropriations Act showed that the
commission was allocated N22.82 billion, comprising N21.68 billion for capital
expenditure and N1.14 billion for recurrent expenditure.
Daily Trust had reported that the commission earmarked N8.4
billion in the 2026 budget for road construction, which is outside its
statutory mandate.
Reacting in a statement on Tuesday, Nura Muhammad, special
assistant on media and communications to the executive secretary of the
commission, said the projects formed part of constituency interventions
captured in the Appropriation Act and allocated to it in line with existing
budgetary practice.
Muhammad said the projects were conceived by the national
assembly as constituency projects assigned to it for implementation.
“The commission wishes to clarify that these projects are
national assembly constituency projects incorporated into the 2026
Appropriation Act for implementation through the commission,” Muhammad said.
He noted that assigning constituency projects to ministries,
departments and agencies for execution has been a long-standing feature of
Nigeria’s federal budgeting process.
Muhammad said the agency is legally obligated to implement
any project assigned in its budget in accordance with established financial and
procurement regulations.
“As part of a duly enacted federal budget, every project
assigned to the Commission forms part of its implementation responsibilities
and will be executed in strict compliance with extant laws, financial
regulations and due procurement processes,” he added.
Responding to the controversy, the commission noted that its
statutory mandate remains unchanged.
Muhammad said that the agency is committed to coordinating
national efforts aimed at reforming the Almajiri education system and
addressing the large population of out-of-school children through policies and
programmes that expand access to quality education.
He said it remains committed to strengthening Almajiri
education, supporting state governments and other stakeholders, and
implementing interventions that directly improve the lives of vulnerable
children across Nigeria.
Muhammad noted that the commission has successfully
identified and profiled more than 700,000 out-of-school children nationwide.
He said the commission had established 119 learning centres
across the country, intensified ward-to-ward advocacy and community
mobilisation campaigns, and continued efforts to implement the National Policy
on Almajiri Education.
“The Commission further reassures the public that it will
continue to pursue its core mandate with renewed vigour,” the statement added.
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