South-South states miss 26% education benchmark despite oil windfall

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Keypoints

• Six South-South states failed to meet the national 26% education funding benchmark in their 2026 budgets, despite record oil revenues.
• Delta State led the region with an 11.98% allocation, while Edo State recorded the lowest commitment at just 6.35%.
• In contrast, Enugu State in the South-East surpassed the benchmark by allocating 32.21% of its total expenditure to education.
• Akwa Ibom and Edo face significant challenges, ranking highest in the region for out-of-school children at 10.6% and 11.3% respectively.
• Fiscal secrecy and poor budget performance continue to plague the region, with some states spending less than a third of their approved education funds.

Main Story

A comprehensive analysis of the 2026 approved budgets reveals a significant funding gap in the education sector across Nigeria’s oil-rich South-South region.

Despite the Federal Ministry of Education’s prescription of a 26% allocation for subnational governments, states including Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, and Edo have all fallen short of the mark.

This trend persists even as these states benefit from a massive surge in oil revenues driven by high global crude prices.

Delta State emerged as the top spender in the region, earmarking ₦207.27 billion (11.98%) for education, yet this figure remains less than half of the recommended national threshold.

More concerning is the situation in Edo State, where Governor Monday Okpebholo allocated only 6.35% of the state’s ₦939.85 billion budget to education—the lowest in the region—despite Edo having the highest prevalence of out-of-school children at 11.3%.

The disparity is further highlighted by the South-East, where Enugu State has committed over 32% of its budget to the sector, demonstrating that political will, rather than just revenue size, remains the primary driver of education investment.

The Issues

The primary challenge is the revenue-priority gap; states like Delta recorded revenue surpluses exceeding ₦1 trillion in 2025, yet failed to significantly increase their education spend. Authorities must also solve the problem of budget performance

; in 2025, Cross River only spent 32.8% of its allocated education funds, suggesting that “earmarked” money often fails to reach schools. Furthermore, there is a transparency-accountability risk; Akwa Ibom has been flagged for fiscal secrecy, making it difficult to verify if “model school” projects are actually being executed. To reverse the rising numbers of out-of-school children, these states must move beyond minimal infrastructure projects and align their fiscal planning with the 26% national human capital development goals.

What’s Being Said

• “Enugu State allocated ₦521.87 billion… a 32.21 per cent of its total expenditure, surpassing the national benchmark,” noted Premium Times in its comparative analysis.
• Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta earmarked ₦24 billion for higher institution upgrades, marking the region’s largest single education project.

What’s Next

• State Houses of Assembly in the South-South are expected to face increased pressure from advocacy groups to revise education spending in supplementary budgets.
• The Federal Ministry of Education is anticipated to release a fresh performance ranking, potentially using these budget figures to determine future federal intervention funds.
• Rivers State remains a wildcard; once the political crisis resolves and the 2026 budget is made public, observers will see if Governor Fubara maintains his 2025 lead in education spending.
• Parent-Teacher Associations and education NGOs are likely to step up monitoring of the ₦19.8 billion in classroom projects currently approved for Bayelsa to ensure 90%+ implementation.

Bottom Line

Having the most money does not always mean having the best schools. In 2026, the South-South’s failure to hit even half of the national education benchmark suggests that the region’s oil windfall is being directed away from the very classrooms meant to build its future.