As governors across the country submit their 2026 appropriation bills to their respective state Houses of Assembly, an analysis by The PUNCH has revealed significant disparities in education sector funding, with Anambra, Enugu, Kano and Jigawa emerging as the leading states, while several others fall well below recommended benchmarks.

So far, a total of 34 state governors have presented their 2026 budget proposals before their state legislatures.

The analysis shows that Anambra State leads nationwide in education funding, allocating 46.9 per cent of its total budget of N757bn to the education sector.

Enugu State follows closely, with N522bn earmarked for education out of its N1.62tn 2026 budget, representing 32.3 per cent.

Enugu has sustained this level of commitment, having consistently allocated more than 30 per cent of its total budget to education in both the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.

For the 2026 fiscal year, the Enugu allocation is expected to support infrastructure upgrades, teacher recruitment and flagship initiatives such as the Smart Green Schools programme, including a dedicated N30bn for school feeding initiatives.

Kano State ranks next, setting aside N405.3bn for education from its total budget of N1.368tn, amounting to 30 per cent.

The Kano State Government has described quality education as a strategic driver of development.

Jigawa State allocated N234.48bn to education, representing 26 per cent of its N901.84bn budget. Governor Muhammad Badaru has said that “quality education is key to Jigawa’s future.”

Other states that made strong commitments to education and came close to or exceeded international benchmarks include Kaduna, which allocated N246.25bn out of its N985bn budget, representing 25 per cent.

Abia State earmarked N203.2bn of its N1.016tn budget for education, amounting to 20 per cent, while Taraba State set aside N131.6bn from its N650bn budget, also representing about 20 per cent.

States with notable education allocations further include Kogi, which allocated N145.26bn of its N820.49bn budget, representing 18 per cent.

Katsina State earmarked N156.3bn out of its N897bn budget, amounting to 17.4 per cent, while Oyo State also allocated N155.21bn of its N892bn budget, representing 17.4 per cent.

Nasarawa State set aside N92.91bn of its N545.2bn budget for education, representing 17.05 per cent.

Ogun State allocated N275.4bn of its N1.66tn budget to the education sector, amounting to 16.6 per cent, while Kebbi State earmarked about 16 per cent, representing N105bn out of its N642.93bn budget.

In contrast, the analysis indicates that Akwa Ibom and Imo states are among the lowest spenders on education, each allocating less than five per cent of their total budgets to the sector.

Akwa Ibom recorded the lowest allocation nationwide, earmarking N31.6bn out of its N1.39tn budget, representing 2.27 per cent.

Imo State followed, allocating N60.623bn of its N1.43tn budget to education, amounting to 4.24 per cent.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation recommends that countries devote between four and six per cent of their Gross Domestic Product or allocate 15 to 20 per cent of total public expenditure to education.

Several states failed to meet this benchmark, allocating less than 10 per cent of their budgets to education. These include Adamawa, which earmarked N40bn of its N583bn budget, representing 6.86 per cent.

Bayelsa State allocated N75.1bn out of its N1.01tn budget, amounting to 7.43 per cent, while Delta State earmarked N105.086bn of its N1.72tn budget, representing 6.11 per cent.

Gombe State allocated N49.482bn from its N617.95bn budget to education, representing 8.01 per cent.

Lagos State earmarked N249bn for education out of its N4.237tn budget, amounting to 5.87 per cent.

Niger State allocated N107.9bn of its N1.31tn budget, representing 8.24 per cent, while Zamfara State earmarked N65bn of its N861bn budget, amounting to 7.55 per cent.

States that allocated around 15 per cent of their budgets to education include Bauchi State, which earmarked N131.71bn out of its N878bn budget.

Ondo State allocated N77.024bn from its N524bn budget to education, while Sokoto State set aside N115.9bn out of its N758.7bn budget.

In some states, education funding is grouped under a broader social services classification that also covers health, social welfare and protection, housing, and community services.

States under this category include Cross River, which allocated N163bn of its N961bn budget to social services.

Edo State earmarked N148.9bn of its N939bn budget for social services, while Plateau State allocated N119bn out of its N914bn budget.

Yobe State set aside N200bn of its N515bn budget for social services, while Kwara State allocated N152.325bn of its N644bn budget.

Ebonyi State earmarked N247.97bn from its N884bn budget under social services, with the exact amount dedicated specifically to education not clearly stated in each case.

Osun State approved a 2026 budget of N723.4bn, comprising recurrent revenue of N421.25bn and capital receipts of N286.01bn.

Ekiti State proposed a N415.37bn budget, with 53 per cent allocated to recurrent expenditure and 47 per cent to capital expenditure, although detailed education sector breakdowns are yet to be fully disclosed.

The analysis further revealed that the governors of Borno and Rivers states, Babagana Zulum and Siminalayi Fubara, respectively, have not yet presented their 2026 appropriation bills before their respective state Houses of Assembly.