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Atiku Abubakar alleges Tinubu administration abandoned Nigerian students abroad under BEA scholarship
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Over 1,600 Nigerian students reportedly stranded without stipends or allowances overseas
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Former Vice President accuses government of neglect, broken promises and policy failure
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of abandoning Nigerian students studying overseas under the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA), alleging that the decision has left about 1,600 students stranded and struggling to survive.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Atiku claimed that the BEA scholarship scheme was quietly discontinued by the federal government without informing parents, guardians or students who were already partway through their academic programmes abroad.
He described the programme as a critical diplomatic and educational partnership that has now been allowed to collapse.
According to him, the BEA, introduced in 1993 and revitalised in 1999, was established to provide Nigerian students with access to undergraduate and postgraduate education through agreements with partner countries.
Atiku said what was initially announced as a temporary five-year suspension of the scheme later degenerated into total abandonment.
The former vice president alleged that affected students have been left without stipends, with unpaid allowances accumulating to more than $6,000 per student.
He criticised the government’s justification that limited public funds required redirection, arguing that money meant to sustain Nigerian students abroad should not be sacrificed under the guise of fiscal responsibility.
Atiku further revealed that the crisis intensified between September and December 2023 when stipends were not paid, followed by a 56 per cent reduction in monthly allowances in 2024—from $500 to $220—before payments were eventually stopped altogether.
He said the situation has forced many students into hunger, rent arrears and severe emotional distress.
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Highlighting the human cost of the alleged neglect, Atiku disclosed that a Nigerian student in Morocco reportedly died in November 2025 after enduring months of hardship, turning what he described as “silent suffering into national grief.”
He added that parents and students have staged protests at the Ministries of Education and Finance in Abuja, demanding explanations and intervention, but their concerns have largely been ignored.
Atiku also faulted comments attributed to the Minister of Education suggesting that students who were “fed up” could be sponsored to return home, describing the remark as dismissive and insensitive.
According to him, the statement reduced years of academic effort and sacrifice to a mere administrative inconvenience.
He added that Nigerian students scattered across foreign institutions are still waiting not only for their unpaid stipends but also for reassurance that their country has not abandoned them.
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