Thirty-four Nigerian states spent a combined ₦1.049 trillion on education in the first half of 2026, with wide differences in both total outlays and education’s share of state spending, BusinessDay reported, citing BudgIT.
Jigawa had the highest education share, at 29.9% of its total expenditure. Ekiti’s share was 25.1%, followed by Nasarawa at 24.9%. The figures rank states by the portion of their spending devoted to education, rather than by the amount spent.
Jigawa’s education outlay was ₦54.13 billion, within total first-half spending of ₦180.90 billion, BusinessDay reported. Ekiti spent ₦39.53 billion on education out of ₦157.64 billion overall, while Nasarawa recorded ₦26.61 billion for education and ₦106.99 billion in total spending.
Kano led in absolute education spending, at ₦99.23 billion. Lagos recorded ₦88.96 billion and Delta ₦65.50 billion. Kano’s total first-half spending was ₦401.06 billion, according to the report.
At the low end by education’s share of total spending, Akwa Ibom recorded 0.6%, Imo 4.2% and Lagos 5.8%. The naira totals and percentages offer different views of state spending: one measures the scale of education outlays, while the other compares those outlays with each state’s overall expenditure.
The figures track state outlays, a separate measure from first-half FAAC funds received by Nigerian states and the FCT.
