THE Federal Ministry of Education has clarified controversy surrounding monetary gifts presented to Nigerian students who emerged winners at the TeenEagle 2024/2025 Global Competition held in the United Kingdom.
The clarification follows reports on social media and some online platforms suggesting that the Federal Government disbursed ₦1.7 million as cash awards to the teenage champions.
In August 2025, ₦200,000 was presented to Nafisah Abdullahi, winner of the TeenEagle Global Finals. Shortly after, after an online newspaper (Not News Point Nigeria) reported that Muhammad Manga, CEO of Manga Automobiles, awarded ₦800,000 to Nafisa Abdullahi Aminu, who won the TeenEagle World English Language Competition.
By August 29, 2025, the total monetary disbursement to Nigerian winners had reportedly reached ₦1.7 million.
In a statement issued Thursday via its official X handle sighted by News Point Nigeria, the Ministry explained that the cash gifts were personal tokens from the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, and not drawn from government resources.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Ministry wishes to state categorically that the monetary tokens presented at the national recognition event held on Thursday, 28th August 2025, were personal gifts from the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa.
These gifts were not funded by the Federal Government or the Federal Ministry of Education,” the statement read.
Dr. Alausa, who had also addressed the issue on his verified social media page, said the gesture was a simple token of encouragement.
“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,” he explained.
The Ministry emphasised that its financial provisions are not designed for cash awards or ad hoc monetary gifts, but are strictly channelled into scholarships, grants, and structured educational support in line with government policy.
It stressed that such programmes are available only to students entering or studying at public tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
The statement urged the public to disregard “false and misleading” reports suggesting that the TeenEagle cash awards came from government coffers.
The Ministry reiterated that Dr. Alausa’s gesture should be viewed purely as a personal act of generosity aimed at motivating young Nigerians to strive for excellence.
It reaffirmed its commitment to: recognising excellence in education, strengthening the nation’s education sector and delivering on President Bola Tinubu’s vision of education as a cornerstone of national development.