The National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children’s Education, NCAOOSCE, has distanced itself from the controversial road projects contained in its 2026 budget, saying the projects were constituency interventions inserted by the National Assembly and assigned to the commission for implementation.
The clarification follows allegations by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that the Federal Government diverted billions of naira meant for the education commission into road construction projects unrelated to its statutory mandate.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Executive Secretary, Nura Muhammad, the commission said the projects formed part of the 2026 Appropriation Act under the long-established practice of assigning constituency projects to Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, for execution.
According to the commission, the projects did not originate from its programme proposals and should not be interpreted as a change in its statutory responsibilities.
“As part of the duly enacted federal budget, every project assigned to the commission forms part of its implementation responsibilities and will be executed in strict compliance with extant laws, financial regulations and due procurement processes,” the statement said.
The commission maintained that its core mandate remains the coordination of national efforts to reform the Almajiri education system and reduce the number of out-of-school children across the country.
It said its programmes remain focused on expanding access to quality education, strengthening Almajiri education, supporting state governments and implementing interventions targeted at improving the lives of vulnerable children.
Highlighting its activities, the commission disclosed that it has identified and profiled more than 700,000 out-of-school children nationwide and established 119 learning centres across the country.
It also said it has sustained ward-to-ward advocacy and community mobilisation campaigns while implementing the National Policy on Almajiri Education aimed at reforming the system and addressing the social challenges associated with it.
The commission reiterated that addressing the plight of Almajiri and out-of-school children remains its foremost priority and expressed appreciation to the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, and other stakeholders for supporting its programmes.
The clarification comes amid growing public scrutiny of the 2026 budget after Atiku questioned why billions of naira for road construction were captured under the commission’s appropriation, arguing that such projects fall outside its legal mandate.
