Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Federal Government said it has devised workable means to get the mandatory counterpart funds from states with a backlog of un-accessed funds at the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
States are supposed to pay 50 percent counterpart fund to access annual UBEC matching grant for basic education system in their states.
But some states, particularly South eastern states, have defaulted in accessing the fund.
Some of them, UBEC said, have backlog of four years ago.
UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, told journalists, in Abuja, on Wednesday, that Federal Government has decided to take defaulting states’ counterpart funds from the Paris club refund due to such state.
He said that had reduced the financial burden on the states and even made them richer, because all their backlogs would be paid to them as soon as the paper works are completed.
He said, “We are optimistic that by the end first quarter of next year, the issue of un-accessed UBEC funds would be a thing of the past.
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“By then, we would have wired all the funds to the benefiting states, after due verification of relevant information and documents.
“In this case, some defaulter states especially from the south east would be most richer especially those with years of un-accessed UBEC funds.
“The deduction will also cover 2018 because the end year has ended. We believe it will help to improve the basic education system.”
Meanwhile, the Commission said the outcome of its recent National Personnel Audit (NPA) would be made public by the end of February next year.
It said that two states, Plateau and Bayelsa, were responsible for the little delay in releasing the outcome of the exercise.