The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, on Tuesday, noted that disgruntled persons against the transformations in the Universal Basic Education Commission are behind smear campaigns against its Executive Secretary, Aisha Garba.
Alausa, in a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations of the ministry, Folasade Boriowo, said the ministry would have ignored the smear campaign, which he attributed to a group tagged âEducation Rights Activists Coalition.â
The group, on Monday, called on anti-corruption agencies to probe the procurement processes of UBEC.
The coalition also advised Garba to step aside for a thorough probe.
The President of the coalition, Odoh Dave, claimed that there was a need to probe UBEC.
Alausa, however, said, âNevertheless, it is important that everyone understands that UBEC is a statutory body with a defined governance framework and oversight hierarchy. It is not a one-person fiefdom.
âLeadership in such a sensitive agency demands fidelity to law, respect for institutions, and adherence to procedural orthodoxy.â
He stated, âAisha Garba is an internationally recognised education expert with over 24 years of experience, including 15 years at the World Bank.
She has brought integrity, competence, and global best practices to UBEC.â
According to the minister, Garbaâs tenure has âseen major strides in access, equity, and quality of basic education.
âUBEC has constructed nearly 5,000 classrooms, renovated over 3,000, and established nationwide Early Childhood Care and Development centres.â
He further noted that, âmore than five million textbooks and over 350,000 units of school furniture have also been distributed.
âIn the area of teacher training, over 147,000 educators have been trained in modern teaching methods, and nearly 978,800 have benefitted from Nigeriaâs largest-ever Teacher Professional Development initiative.â
The ministry condemned the orchestrated attack against the UBEC boss and urged the public to disregard the fabrications.
âTheir efforts are futile and will not succeed. The ministry strongly condemns this orchestrated attack and urges the public to disregard these fabrications in their entirety.
âWe stand firmly with Aisha Garba as she continues her transformational work to deliver quality, safe, and inclusive basic education to Nigerian children,â Dr Alausa said.
Similarly, President Bola Tinubu has received praise for appointing Garba as Executive Secretary of UBEC.
In a joint statement, the Education and Tech Coalition of Activists and Social Entrepreneurs applauded Tinubuâs decision to bring Garba from the World Bank, saying it demonstrated the administrationâs commitment to education reform.
âUBEC, under the leadership of Aisha Garba, has implemented reforms that have directly impacted basic education across the country.
âOut-of-school children are getting back in classrooms⊠Her leadership has improved the quality of education through upgraded learning tools and teaching,â the coalition stated.
Similarly, the founder of Alpha Reach, Japheth Omojuwa, highlighted Garbaâs efforts in dismantling bureaucratic bottlenecks.
âFor two decades, an ordinary document created a stumbling block for states to access matching grants. Aisha changed that,â he said.
