FG refutes claims of neglected Nigerian scholarship students in Morocco

The Federal Government has rejected reports suggesting that Nigerian students on scholarship in Morocco have been abandoned, describing the claims as misleading and deliberately intended to misinform the public.

Videos circulating on social media, including one shared on X (formerly Twitter) by activist Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, showed Nigerian students alleging that they had gone years without financial support despite being beneficiaries of federal scholarships.

FG rejects claims of neglected Nigerian students abroad

Responding to the claims, Boriowo Folasade, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, issued a statement on Wednesday, emphasising that the narratives were “false, unfounded, and deliberately crafted to misinform the public.”

Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, clarified that “no Nigerian student on a valid Federal Government scholarship has been abandoned.”

He further explained that all students enrolled under the Bilateral Education Scholarship Programme before 2024 have received payments in line with the 2024 budget year.

Scholarship reforms and continued support for enrolled students

Any delays in outstanding payments, he said, are due to fiscal constraints, which are being addressed through ongoing engagements between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance.

The statement also dismissed claims that new bilateral scholarships were granted in 2025, describing documents suggesting otherwise as “fake, unauthenticated, and a calculated attempt to mislead the public and discredit government policy.”

According to the ministry, “no new bilateral scholarship awards were made in October 2025 or at any time thereafter.”

Alausa noted that the government’s decision to discontinue fully funded bilateral scholarships abroad followed a review which determined that Nigerian universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education now have the capacity to deliver programmes locally.

Consequently, only scholarships fully funded by foreign governments are currently supported, with financial obligations borne entirely by the host countries.

The ministry reassured that students already enrolled under previous arrangements would continue to receive support until the completion of their programmes.