Maku wants UBEC to publish states’ performance of utilisation of UBE funds

The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, on Friday urged the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to regularly publish the performance of states on the utilisation of funds for basic education.
Maku said this in his closing remarks at the ongoing Ministerial Platform at the National Press Centre, Abuja.
He said the move would encourage competition amongst states and increase the rate of enrolment in basic education in Nigeria.
The minister said some states had made remarkable achievements in basic education while others were still lagging behind.
“The problem with primary education is that it is driven by the state and local governments, the Federal Government can only make interventions.
“What I will like to see basic education to do is to advertise state by state, those states that have failed to take their children to school, we need to know them.
“There are states that are doing very well, there are states that have almost 100 per cent enrolment, in which state do we have low enrolment, we need to advertise and publish them,’’ he said.
Maku said important sectors in some states such as education, health and basic infrastructure were receiving little attention because governments of such states had abdicated their responsibilities.
He said that publicity for states that were doing well in basic education would spur those lagging behind to work harder.
On the performance of the Tertiary Education Fund (Tetfund), the minister said that the increase in interventions in universities through the Tetfund was as a result of improvements in the economy.
The minister said that Nigeria’s model of educational intervention through the Tetfund had become a model in Africa and beyond.
Maku called on the Nigerian media to redirect its attention to issues of development, noting that there was much that was not being reported in the media.
He said more parastatals would be invited to feature on the ministerial platform to make important clarifications about the various progress and challenges in the economy.
In a related development, the minister paid two separate condolence visits to the Special Adviser to the Vice President on Media, Mr Umar Sani, and the management of Media Trust limited.
The minister was at the Gwarimpa residence of Sani to condole with him over the demise of his wife, Mrs Sahura Umar.
Maku said her death was a great loss not only to the family but to close friends and associates of Sani and prayed God to grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss.
In his response, Sani thanked the minister for the visit and noted that it would encourage the family to remain strong in its moment of grief.
He said though his wife’s demised came as a shock, the family was looking up to God for consolation and comfort.
At the corporate headquarters of Media Trust Limited, Maku condoled with the management of the organisation over the death of its Managing Editor, Mr Suleiman Mohammed.
Maku said that the death of Mohammed was a great loss to the organisation, Nasarawa State and the Nigerian media industry.
Mr Mahmud Jega, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Media Trust, thanked the minister for the visit.
He said that Mohammed’s loss was a shock to the entire staff and management of the organisation, stressing that the deceased was a dedicated and thorough professional.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the wife of the media aide to the vice president died on June 12, while the Media Trust Managing Editor died on June 13.