Nigeria Pays $4.8M to Settle Stranded Scholarship Students

Over 1,200 Nigerian students studying in countries like China, Russia, and Morocco are finally getting the financial lifeline they desperately needed after months of unpaid tuition and evictions from their housing.

The Federal Government announced it will pay 8 billion naira (approximately $9.6 million) in outstanding scholarship money owed to students under the now-canceled Bilateral Education Agreement program. Education Minister Tunji Alausa confirmed that 4 billion naira has already been disbursed, with the remaining half to be approved within two weeks.

The students' nightmare began in September 2023 when payments suddenly stopped. For an entire year, many couldn't pay tuition or rent, with some being kicked out of university housing or barred from classes.

When payments finally resumed in September 2024, students received 56% less than promised. The government formally scrapped the program in April 2025, leaving hundreds in limbo with no clear path forward.

Alausa said he discovered widespread abuse of the scholarship system when he took office. One request asked him to approve 650 million naira to send just 60 students to Morocco, including funding for a Nigerian student to study English in a French-speaking country.

The program had strayed far from its original purpose of training Nigerians in specialized fields like engineering, medicine, and aeronautics. Instead, it became a general overseas education fund that ballooned from 3.2 billion naira in 2022 to 8 billion naira in 2025.

Some students were even collecting scholarship money while simultaneously enrolled in Nigerian universities. The minister called these cases "indefensible" and a key reason the program had to end.

The Bright Side

While the scholarship program's cancellation marks the end of a flawed system, the government's commitment to paying what it owes shows accountability. Rather than abandoning students caught in the middle of this crisis, officials are ensuring no one is left stranded thousands of miles from home.

The 1,200 affected students will now be able to finish their current academic terms without the fear of eviction or being barred from classes. They can focus on their studies instead of worrying about survival.

Nigeria's education system is learning hard lessons about oversight and program integrity, which should lead to better-designed initiatives in the future.

These students stuck it out through incredible hardship, and now they're getting the support they were promised.