FG appeals for calm, pledges to pay scholars soon 

Federal Government has appealed for calm over agitations by Nigerian students on foreign scholarships due to unpaid stipends.

Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, stated this, yesterday, in Abuja at a briefing heralding the 2024 Commonwealth Day, with the theme, ‘One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Commonwealth’.

Nigerian students under the Federal Government Bilateral Educational Agreement (BEA) scholarship had appealed to the government to address the pressing issue of unpaid stipends causing severe hardship among students.

Spokesperson for the Coalition of all Nigerian Bilateral Education Agreement Students Association, Ayuba Yushau, said for the past six to eight months, scholars enrolled in various institutions abroad had endured financial strain due to the delay in receiving their stipends.

Reacting to the development, the minister assured that the allowances, which were reportedly being processed, would be paid soon.

“It is being processed. That is the information I have from the Secretariat. Nothing will be lost. Their allowance is being processed,” Mamman said.

According to the minister, the Commonwealth Day, which will be commemorated in Abuja on Monday, March 11, is an opportunity to promote democracy, human rights, cultural diversity, cooperation, equality and mutual respect for nation building.

He said in the build-up to the event, schools across the country had participated in youth lecture, quiz competition, parade of the Commonwealth flags, poetic rendition, dramatisation of the 2024 observance theme and cultural display, among others.

Nigeria is among the 56 countries across six continents that made up the Commonwealth of Nations.