The National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children’s Education, NCAOOSCE, has rationalised the inclusion of road projects in its 2026 budget.
The disclosure that N8.4 billion was earmarked in the 2026 budget for road construction by the commission sparked public dismay as such venture falls outside the mandate of the commission, which is to tackle the challenge of out-of-school children and reduce illiteracy by integrating formal and Qur’anic education and skills acquisition into its curriculum.
In response to the public outrage, the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the Executive Secretary of the commission, Mr Nura Muhammad, in a statement he released said 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.
“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,” Muhammad explained.
Details of the 2026 Appropriations Act show that the commission was allocated N22.82 billion, comprising N21.68 billion for capital expenditure and N1.14 billion for recurrent expenditure.
The agency also budgeted for several other off-mandate projects, including the procurement of ambulances and medical equipment and the installation of solar power facilities.
