The Federal Ministry of Education has condemned what it described as a sponsored smear campaign targeting the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Aisha Garba.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, said the Ministry’s attention had been drawn to libellous media reports circulated by a group operating under the name Education Rights Activists Coalition (ERAC). The group had accused Garba of administrative misconduct and disregard for the rule of law allegations the Ministry described as baseless, misleading, and malicious.

Alausa said the campaign was a calculated effort by disgruntled individuals to derail the reform agenda currently being driven by Garba at UBEC. He described Garba as an internationally recognised education expert with over 24 years of experience, including 15 years at the World Bank. According to him, she has brought integrity, competence, and global best practices to UBEC.

Under Garba’s leadership, the Ministry said, the Commission has recorded significant progress in access, equity, and quality of basic education. It noted that nearly 5,000 classrooms have been constructed, over 3,000 renovated, and Early Childhood Care and Development centres established across the country. Additionally, more than five million textbooks and over 350,000 units of school furniture have been distributed nationwide.

In the area of teacher training, over 147,000 educators have reportedly been trained in modern teaching methods, while nearly 978,800 have benefitted from Nigeria’s largest-ever Teacher Professional Development initiative. A major curriculum overhaul to embed digital literacy and entrepreneurship is also underway, in collaboration with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).

The Ministry further disclosed that reforms introduced under Garba’s leadership have improved the implementation of the Basic Education Action Plan (BEAP) and the Matching Grant Formula, leading to the disbursement of ₦78.6 billion to 28 states and the FCT in 2024 alone. Institutional partnerships have also been enhanced with key development partners, including the World Bank, UNICEF, KOICA, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Over 15,000 community projects have also been executed under the School-Based Management Committee–School Improvement Programme.

Reaffirming its support, the Ministry stated that there have been no financial infractions or breaches under Garba’s leadership, and urged the public to disregard what it described as orchestrated falsehoods. “We stand firmly with Aisha Garba as she continues her transformational work to deliver quality, safe, and inclusive basic education to Nigerian children,” the Minister declared.