The National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children’s Education (NCAOOSCE) explained how projects contained in its 2026 Appropriation Act that had no direct bearing with its mandate were inserted in its budget by the National Assembly for implementation.
This was contained in a statement on Tuesday by the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Executive Secretary of the commission, Nura Muhammad stating that the budget showed that the commission earmarked N8.4 billion in the 2026 budget for road construction, which is clearly outside its statutory mandate.
The mandate of the commission is to tackle the challenge of out-of-school children and reduce illiteracy by integrating formal and Qur’anic education as well as skills acquisition into its curriculum.
However, a critical look at the 2026 Appropriations Act clearly indicated that the commission was allocated N22.82 billion, comprising N21.68 billion for capital expenditure and N1.14 billion for recurrent expenditure.
The Appropriation Act also indicated that the Commission has budgetary provisions for several other off-mandate projects, including the procurement of ambulances and medical equipment and the installation of solar power facilities.
Muhammad explained that the projects were included in the 2026 federal budget in line with the established practice of assigning constituency projects to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for execution.
He further said; “The Commission wishes to clarify that these projects are National Assembly constituency projects incorporated into the 2026 Appropriation Act for implementation through the Commission.
“This is in line with the long-standing budgetary practice under which constituency projects are assigned to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for execution through the Appropriation Act.
“As part of the duly enacted federal budget, every project assigned to the commission formed part of its implementation responsibilities and would be executed in strict compliance with extant laws, financial regulations and due procurement processes,” he stated.
Muhammad however, said that the inclusion of the projects did not alter the commission’s statutory mandate, which remains focused on reforming the Almajiri education system and addressing the challenge of out-of-school children across the country.
According to him; “The commission remained committed to expanding access to quality education, strengthening Almajiri education, supporting state governments and other stakeholders, and implementing programmes that improve the lives of vulnerable children.
“The commission has identified and profiled more than 700,000 out-of-school children nationwide and established 119 learning centres across the country. The agency has sustained ward-to-ward advocacy and community mobilisation while pursuing the implementation of the National Policy on Almajiri to reform the system and tackle the social challenges associated with it,” he said.
The statement appreciated the support of the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, and other stakeholders in advancing the commission’s mandate.
