Nigeria’s 36 state governments have collectively raised their 2025 education budgets to ₦3.6 trillion, marking a decisive 53% increase from 2024 and signalling what may become the most ambitious subnational investment in education in the country’s history.

Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Chairman and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, announced the development at the opening of the Nigeria Education Forum in Abuja. Represented by NGF Director-General Dr. Abdulateef Shittu, he described the surge in allocations as “a strong commitment to sector reform” and a strategic response to Nigeria’s youthful demographic profile.

A Multi-Year Climb in Spending

States have steadily increased education spending over the last three years:

• ₦1 trillion in 2022
  
• ₦1.6 trillion in 2023
  
• ₦2.4 trillion in 2024
  
• ₦3.6 trillion projected for 2025
  

The Forum revealed that the latest jump was driven by a 69% rise in capital allocations, reflecting a deeper push for infrastructure development, school rehabilitation and investments in modern learning systems.

Yet challenges persist. AbdulRazaq warned that ₦800 billion in capital funds went unspent in 2024, a sign that Nigeria’s education crisis is now less about funding and more about execution, absorption capacity and system governance.

Six states — Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Kaduna, Katsina and Abia — are projected to spend ₦1.8 trillion on education in 2026 alone, with some targeting as much as 32% of their total budgets for the sector.

The NGF chair noted that two-thirds of states are expected to meet or exceed the global 15% education funding benchmark in 2026.

However, he flagged heavy debt servicing obligations as a key constraint affecting teacher recruitment, TVET expansion and tertiary upgrades — all critical pillars for Nigeria’s long-term human capital competitiveness.

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NESRI Reforms Begin to Take Root

Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, said the government’s education transformation drive is advancing under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) — an agenda-aligned reform framework under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Plan.

Represented by Minister of State Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, Alausa listed key milestones:

Digital Infrastructure & Data Systems

• 202,000 schools digitised on the national EMIS platform
  
• 21 states have uploaded complete datasets
  

Access & Equity

• 35,000 out-of-school children reintegrated
  
• 577,863 girls received AGILE scholarships
  
• LUMINAH 2030 supports second-chance learners in 12 states
  

TVET & Skills

• 5,600 TVET teachers trained
  
• 479 programmes accredited
  
• 250,000 students enrolled in certified institutions
  

Scholarships & Bursaries

• 482,342 NESRI scholarships awarded
  
• 828,000+ applications processed
  
• ₦9.7 billion disbursed to 12,434 students
  
• ₦4.05 billion awarded to 8,535 students under federal schemes
  

Despite progress, Alausa described a “frightening pattern”: of 30 million pupils in primary school, only 10 million transition to JSS1. He attributed the collapse to shortages of secondary schools, long travel distances in rural areas, insecurity, cost barriers and weak foundational learning investments.

He urged states to strengthen alignment with NESRI, enforce 12 years of compulsory basic education, expand alternative learning pathways and deploy teachers strategically to underserved LGAs.

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BRANDECONOMY Insight: Why This Budget Surge Matters

Nigeria’s education financing landscape is entering a pivotal era. The 2025 budget jump is not just a fiscal milestone — it is a strategic repositioning of Nigeria’s human capital trajectory.

1. A Demographic Window That Will Not Stay Open Forever

Nigeria’s population will surpass 230 million by 2030. More than 60% are under 25. Without urgent, deliberate investment, this demographic advantage risks turning into a liability.

A ₦3.6 trillion commitment signals that states are finally responding to the scale of the challenge.

2. Budgets Alone Will Not Deliver Learning

Nigeria’s core education crisis has never been funding — it has been execution, governance, capacity and coordination.
The ₦800 billion in unspent 2024 capital funds is a stark reminder:

The system must be reformed as aggressively as it is being funded.

3. NESRI Offers a Framework — States Must Provide the Momentum

NESRI’s progress marks Nigeria’s most structured attempt at nationwide education reform in decades. But its success will hinge on state-level absorption, alignment and accountability.

4. The TVET and STEMM Imperative

With global competitiveness now driven by STEM, vocational skills and technology fluency, Nigeria must rewire its education pipeline to produce globally deployable talent, not paper-qualified graduates.

5. The Transition Crisis Must Be Treated as a National Emergency

Losing 20 million children between primary school and JSS1 is an existential threat to Nigeria’s future workforce. No economy can grow sustainably with this level of attrition.

In summary:

Nigeria’s states are investing more than ever before — but only effective governance, teacher quality, localised infrastructure deployment and data-driven planning will determine whether this historic spending becomes a turning point or a missed opportunity.

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