Kano, Lagos and Delta states recorded the highest education expenditure in the first half of 2026, according to a report by BudgIT, highlighting the distribution of public spending on education across Nigerian states between January and June.
The BudgIT report, published Wednesday, unveiled the education expenditure performance by states and shows that Kano recorded the highest education spending in absolute terms at N99.23billion, followed by Lagos at N88.96 billion and Delta at N65.50 billion.
However, Jigawa recorded the highest education expenditure share at 29.9 percent, followed by Ekiti at 25.1 percent, and Nasarawa at 24.9 percent.
While at the lower end, Akwa Ibom devoted 0.6 percent of its total expenditure to education, followed by Imo at 4.2 percent and Lagos at 5.8 percent.
Education expenditure performance by state examines education spending across 34 states, showing how much they spent on the sector and the share of their total expenditure devoted to education in the first half of 2026.
‘The 34 states spent a combined N1.049 trillion on education by the end of Q2 2026, although education expenditure varied considerably across states,’ the report stated.
Jigawa recorded N180.90 billion in first-half total actual spending between Q1 and Q2, and N54.13billion in education expenditure of the actual within the same time frame.
Ekiti State spent N157.64billion in H1 total actual spending and N39.53billion in its education expenditure of the actual within Q1 and Q2.
Nasarawa State had N106.99 billion total actual spending, and N26.61 billion education expenditure of the actual. Kano State recorded N401.06 billion total actual spending, and N99. 23billion education expenditure of the actual in the first half.
Katsina State recorded N203.76 billion in total actual spending in the first half between Q1 and Q2, and N44.76 billion in education expenditure of the actual within the same time frame.
Adamawa State recorded N154.62 billion total actual spending and N33.89 billion expenditure of the actual in the first half, while Abia State recorded N164.82 billion total actual spending and N34.04 billion of the actual education expenditure.
Benue State had N166.52 billion total actual spending, and N33.60 billion of actual education expenditure. Ebonyi State recorded N120.42 billion total spending and N23.70 billion of total actual expenditure.
Kwara State recorded N148.96 billion in total spending and N27.59 billion in total actual education expenditure