The Democratic Front (TDF) has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of spreading falsehoods in a bid to discredit President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the Federal Government’s decision on Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) foreign scholarship awards.
In a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Danjuma Muhammadu, and Secretary, Wale Adedayo, the group alleged that Atiku relied on what it described as “unverified and misleading content” circulated by social media influencers to accuse the Tinubu administration of abandoning Nigerian students studying abroad, particularly in Morocco.
According to TDF, its findings showed that claims of non-payment of allowances and abandonment of BEA beneficiaries were false and deliberately framed to tarnish the image of the government and the president.
The group explained that the Tinubu administration had, since April 2025, formally discontinued the foreign scholarship awards scheme as part of a broader education reform agenda aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s universities and investing more resources in domestic tertiary education.
TDF noted that the foreign scholarship model had been a longstanding point of contention between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and successive governments, arguing that it was unsustainable for Nigeria to spend millions of dollars annually on a few privileged students abroad to study courses already available in Nigerian institutions.
“It is unacceptable for any responsible government to continue such a misplacement of priority, especially at a time when the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is sponsoring thousands of students to study similar courses within the country,” the group said.
The organisation commended the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, for issuing a statement to debunk what it described as false narratives surrounding Nigerian students on BEA scholarships in Morocco, adding that the clarification exposed the claims amplified by social media as misleading.
TDF further argued that Atiku’s comments reflected a decline in political judgement, accusing him of failing to exercise due diligence before commenting on a sensitive national issue.
The group urged the former vice president to be more circumspect and thorough in verifying facts before making public statements, even while engaging in opposition politics.
