The Federal Ministry of Education has clarified that the monetary gifts presented to eight Nigerian winners of the TeenEagle 2024/2025 Global Competition in the United Kingdom were not funded by the Federal Government.
It would be recalled that it was widely reported in the media that the Federal Government gifted the winner of the TeenEagle global finals competition, Nafisah Abdullahi, N200,000.
The minister also announced a gift of over N100,000 to Nafisa and her other colleagues who excelled in other fields.
Also, the Atiku Foundation rewarded the TeenEagle champions, namely Nafisa Abdullahi, Rukaiya Fema, and Khadija Kalli, with fully-funded scholarships following their outstanding performance at the TeenEagle Global Finals.
However, in a statement issued by the ministry and signed by its Director of of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, the ministry explained that the financial tokens given to the students during a national recognition event in August were personal gifts from the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa.
According to the ministry, the gesture was explicitly described as a private act during the ceremony and later reiterated by Dr. Alausa on his verified social media handle.
“This gift was just a token of my appreciation of the effort made by these young girls and to also serve as encouragement to other girls and young children in Nigeria to excel,” the minister said.
The ministry stressed that it has no budgetary allocation for cash awards or monetary gifts, noting that its financial provisions are strictly dedicated to scholarships and structured educational support for students in public tertiary institutions, including universities, colleges of education, and polytechnics.
It added that Dr. Alausa’s gesture should be understood purely as an act of personal generosity aimed at celebrating the students’ accomplishments and inspiring other Nigerian children to strive for academic excellence.
The clarification comes amid claims suggesting that the gifts were financed with public funds, which the ministry dismissed as “false and misleading.”
