Nigerian students studying abroad under the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) have raised concerns over the federal government’s failure to pay their allowances for 2023, 2024, and the first quarter of 2025. Speaking through the Union of Nigerian Bilateral Education Agreement Scholars, they appealed to the Minister of Education, Dr. Yusuf Tunji Alausa, to address the backlog, claiming each student is owed $6,720. They also accused the Ministry of Education of spreading false information about their welfare, stating that claims of sufficient support from host countries are untrue.
In a statement posted on X, the students highlighted poor living conditions, citing examples like Morocco, where no housing is provided, and Algeria, where students receive a meager $70 every four months. They firmly rejected the Ministry’s assertions that all previous payments had been completed and insisted that the federal government must take immediate action to fulfill its obligations to them.
Responding to the students’ concerns, the Ministry of Education, through its spokesperson Boriowo Folasade, acknowledged delays caused by foreign exchange fluctuations but maintained that supplementary allowances had been paid up to December 2024. The ministry also revealed that a request for additional funding has been submitted and assured that disbursements from the 2025 Capital Budget would commence soon. It reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Nigerian scholars abroad and promised to meet all outstanding obligations under the BEA program.
