Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of abandoning Nigerian students studying overseas under the Bilateral Education Agreement, BEA, warning that the alleged breach has left about 1,600 young Nigerians stranded abroad and stripped of support.
Atiku said that the BEA scholarship scheme was quietly discontinued under the Tinubu administration without notice to parents or wards and without consideration for students already midway through their studies overseas.
He explained that the BEA, which began in 1993 and was revitalised in 1999, was designed to allow Nigerian students pursue undergraduate and postgraduate education through agreements between Nigeria and partner countries.
Atiku said that the decision has left beneficiary students abroad without stipends, with outstanding allowances now running into thousands of dollars per student.