The Federal Ministry of Education has strongly debunked what it described as a “sponsored smear campaign” against the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Aisha Garba, declared full confidence in her leadership and integrity.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, said the Ministry’s attention had been drawn to libellous media reports circulated by an unregistered group under the name Education Rights Activists Coalition (ERAC).
The group had accused Garba of administrative misconduct and disregard for the rule of law claims the Ministry dismissed as “baseless, misleading, and malicious.”
Dr. Alausa said the attacks were a calculated effort by “disgruntled individuals” determined to derail the ongoing reform agenda in basic education under Garba’s leadership.
“Aisha Garba is an internationally recognised education expert with over 24 years of experience, including 15 years at the World Bank. She has brought integrity, competence, and global best practices to UBEC,” the Minister stated.
The Ministry outlined several achievements under Garba’s leadership, including the construction of nearly 5,000 classrooms and the renovation of over 3,000 across the country. It also noted the establishment of Early Childhood Care and Development Centres in various states, expanding access to foundational learning.
Over five million textbooks and more than 350,000 units of school furniture have been distributed to support teaching and learning in public schools.
In the area of teacher development, over 147,000 educators have received training in modern instructional techniques. Nearly 978,800 teachers have benefitted from Nigeria’s largest-ever Teacher Professional Development programme.
The Ministry added that a major curriculum overhaul is currently underway, focused on embedding digital literacy and entrepreneurship skills, in collaboration with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).
Financial performance under Garba’s tenure has also improved, with enhanced implementation of the Basic Education Action Plan (BEAP) and better access to the Matching Grant Formula. In 2024 alone, ₦78.6 billion was accessed by 28 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Institutional partnerships have also been strengthened under her leadership, including ongoing collaborations with the World Bank, UNICEF, KOICA, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Additionally, over 15,000 school improvement projects have been executed through the School-Based Management Committee–School Improvement Programme (SBMC–SIP), deepening grassroots involvement in basic education delivery.
The Ministry clarified that no financial infractions or breaches of procedure had been recorded against Garba and urged the public and stakeholders to disregard what it termed “orchestrated falsehoods.”
“We stand firmly with Aisha Garba as she continues her transformational work to deliver quality, safe, and inclusive basic education to Nigerian children,” Dr. Alausa said.
