By Joseph Erunke, ABUJA

A group of Nigerian scholars who were awarded federal government-funded foreign Masters and PhD scholarships has raised the alarm over the non-release of funds for their PhD studies, alleging that the promise made by the government more than a decade ago remains unfulfilled.

The affected scholars, who were selected under the Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme for Innovation and Development, PRESSID, introduced during the Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2012, said they have been abandoned despite meeting all the academic and administrative requirements for the scholarship.

One of the affected awardees,Olubukola Anike Ajiga, speaking on behalf of the group from the United Kingdom, lamented that many of them faced severe academic, financial, and psychological hardships due to government’s failure to honour its commitment.

“We were selected through a rigorous and competitive process. Many of us got admissions into top-ranking universities across the world, but the promised funding never came,” she said.

According to her, the government had pledged to fund their tuition, research, and living expenses throughout their doctoral programmes abroad, but only a fraction of the promised support was ever released — and to only a few of the awardees.

“We want the federal government of Nigeria to release our PhD scholarship funds pending since 2015. The government is making new promises to the Super Falcons of Nigeria without fulfilling its prior pledges to us since Goodluck Ebele Jonathan tenure of office,” she added.

Ajiga,who said she served in a school in Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara State, lamented that, “The delay has a very devastating effect not only on me but all of us.

“It’s very frustrating, we are like second class citizens in our very country especially when the same part of group are done with their PhD,” she added. 

“I studied Peace Conflict and Development in my Masters and I intend to go through with that or Intelligence and Security but the government appears to be dashing my hopes,” she said. 

“About 80 of the 164 were placed under PDTF and they were given their full scholarship funds. Some of them have now obtained their doctorate degrees.Whilst we, the remaining 84 awardees were placed under the Federal Scholarship Board, FSB. 

“FSB only released our masters scholarship funds in 2019 after a series of peaceful protests I organized in 2018. I completed my master’s degree with a First class/distinction results. We have been awaiting the release of our PhD scholarship funds ever since 2015,” she stressed. 

Ajiga narrated how she had to work multiple jobs to survive and in the foreign country after it became clear that the government would not release the expected funds.

“The scholarship was supposed to help Nigeria build capacity in critical sectors. Instead, we were left stranded, disillusioned, and in some cases, in debt,” she said tearfully

Investigations revealed that over 150 scholars were affected under the PRESSID scheme, which was designed to produce experts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields to support Nigeria’s development.

While some managed to complete their studies with personal or family support, others were forced to abandon their programmes midway.

The scholars are now calling on President Bola Tinubu and the relevant government ministries, especially the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission, NUC, to intervene and fulfil the scholarship commitments.

Observers say the case reflects a broader pattern of policy discontinuity and poor commitment to education funding in Nigeria. 

Stakeholders have urged the federal government to take urgent steps to review and resolve the matter, arguing that failure to do so could further damage the country’s reputation and discourage future talents from engaging in national development initiatives.