The Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Soludo, has cleared a three-year backlog of counterpart funding for the Universal Basic Education (UBE) matching grants, enabling the state to access new funding tranches for 2022, 2023, and 2024.
This was disclosed by the Chairperson of the Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB), Dr Vera Nwadinobi, during a midterm briefing on the implementation of UBE projects for 2019–2021, held recently.
According to Nwadinobi, Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo approved and released the necessary funds to clear the arrears for 2019, 2020, and 2021—a prerequisite for qualifying for subsequent UBE matching grants from the Federal Government.
“Before Professor Soludo assumed office on March 17, 2022, Anambra had unaccessed UBE matching grants dating back to 2019, primarily due to the state’s inability to meet counterpart funding obligations.
“Governor Soludo graciously approved and paid the backlog, enabling Anambra to now meet the criteria for accessing grants for 2022 to 2024,” Nwadinobi said.
Nwadinobi emphasised that the Soludo administration is committed to ensuring the state remains current with its funding obligations, describing it as critical to sustaining quality basic education across Anambra.
“It is indeed worthy of celebration that under less than three years, Governor Soludo has not only cleared the backlogs but has also remained consistent in meeting ongoing funding commitments.
“We at ASUBEB remain fully aligned with his vision for education and are committed to executing it with dedication. I am proud to say that Anambra is back to winning ways,” Nwadinobi noted.
In a further boost to its educational infrastructure and administration, Anambra State signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) on June 16, 2025.
This agreement paved the way for the state’s participation in a high-level training session on new funding templates for UBE matching grants.
The training was held from June 19–20 at the Abuja Continental Hotel and was presided over by UBEC Executive Secretary, Aisha Garba.
The state’s renewed access to national education grants is expected to accelerate infrastructure development, teacher training, and curriculum delivery in public primary and junior secondary schools.