PDP, APC clash over N19.18bn unspent Benue school funds
- Benue PDP says N19.18bn in UBEC basic education funds for the state is unspent, the highest of the 36 states.
- The party wants Governor Hyacinth Alia's government to publish how the money was received and used.
- The APC says the funds are used judiciously and blames the previous PDP government for poor schools.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has asked Governor Hyacinth Alia's government to explain why N19.18bn in basic education intervention funds was not used, saying public schools in the state remain in poor condition.
The money is Benue's share of funds from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the federal body that supports primary and junior secondary education. According to the PDP, UBEC's 2025 annual report showed Benue had the highest unspent balance of any state.
The party's state publicity secretary, Bright Yima Antyo, said in a statement on Sunday that the figure was "nothing short of scandalous" at a time when children in other states are learning in upgraded classrooms.
The PDP demanded a full breakdown of all UBEC funds received since Alia took office in 2023. It wants the government to list counterpart contributions, approved projects, contracts awarded, payments made and what is still outstanding.
It also asked whether the state met the conditions for collecting the money, including providing its own counterpart funding, and where the N19.18bn is now.
"Public funds are not political trophies to be displayed in government accounts," the statement said, adding that money meant for Benue children's education should be put to work.
APC hits back
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state rejected the criticism. Its publicity secretary, Benedict Yawe, said the Alia government has used the funds judiciously and accused the PDP of spreading propaganda.
Yawe said the previous PDP administration under former Governor Samuel Ortom neglected education, with strikes keeping pupils at home and schools left dilapidated.
He said Alia's government is the first in Benue's history to build storey buildings in primary and secondary schools in both urban and rural areas, and that many of the projects have been completed and furnished.
"PDP should stop propaganda and present its manifesto to the people," he said.
What happens next
Neither side has published the project-by-project account the PDP is asking for. For parents in Benue, the dispute comes down to one question: whether classrooms, roofs and learning materials improve before the next school term.
The state government has not issued its own response beyond the APC's statement.
