Senate summons minister over stranded foreign scholars

The Senate on Tuesday, urged the Federal Government to impose sanctions on officials responsible for the pains and sufferings Nigeria students in countries abroad are facing.

It, therefore, summoned the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, and the leadership of the Federal Scholarship Board over the delay in the payment of outstanding grants to the students.

The upper legislative chamber also asked Tahir to provide a detailed report on the status of all Nigerian students under international scholarship programmes, including a breakdown of their unpaid entitlements.

The Senate in plenary on Tuesday asked its President, Godswill Akpabio, to urgently carry out a holistic investigation into the matter and ensure that necessary measures were taken to rectify the situation promptly.

The resolution of the Senate followed a motion on a matter of urgent importance moved by the lawmaker representing Kwara Central Senatorial District, Salihu Mustapha.

He said, “These scholarships are part of a broader initiative to promote specialised education through partnerships with foreign institutions, facilitated by entities such as the Federal Scholarship Board, under the Federal Ministry of Education.

“This initiative supports the government’s commitment to Bilateral Education Agreements and Multilateral Agreements with the Commonwealth and other international partners.

“There are reports of Nigerian students facing hardships in Algeria, China, Morocco, Russia and the United Kingdom due to non-payment of tuition and living stipends, leading to negative media coverage and national embarrassment.

“The recurrence of these issues suggests systemic failures, despite previous interventions by this distinguished chamber to prevent such situations.”

He added “The Federal Government’s failure to meet its financial commitments under these international agreements for over 10 months will jeopardise the welfare and academic progress of the affected students.

“The failure to fulfil these obligations not only undermines our national reputation but also poses significant diplomatic concerns and risks, pushing our students towards unlawful activities to sustain their livelihood abroad.”