Alausa Clarifies Donation to Teeneagle Winners, Says It’s Personal Gift

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, yesterday clarified that the recent gift presented to the winners of the TeenEagle 2024/2025 Global Competition in the United Kingdom was not from the federal government, but from his personal pocket.

In a statement signed by the Director, Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Boriowo Folasade, the minister noted that the token handed down to the girls was not from the government since it has no budget for such expenses.

THISDAY learnt that the reaction may not be unconnected with the response of Nigeria’s online community to the gift, which they insisted was too meagre compared to donations to football and basketball stars, among others.

Three teenage girls, Nafisa Abdullahi Aminu, Rukayya Muhammad Fema, and Hadiza Kashim Kalli emerged champions in the global English-language contest, and were said to have defeated thousands of competitors from across the world. But when news broke that each was handed just N200,000 as a reward, it drew the attention of Nigerians on social media.

“The attention of the Federal Ministry of Education has been drawn to misinformation circulating on social media regarding the monetary gifts presented to the eight Nigerian winners of the TeenEagle 2024/2025 Global Competition in the United Kingdom.

“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.

“This fact was clearly announced during the event and further reiterated by the Honourable Minister on his verified social media handle. Any claims suggesting otherwise are false and misleading,” the statement noted.

Alausa emphasised that the gift was just a token of his appreciation of the effort made by the young girls and to also serve as encouragement to other girls and young children in Nigeria to excel.

He highlighted that the Federal Ministry of Education does not have any budgetary allocation for cash awards or monetary gifts, explaining that the ministry’s financial provisions are strictly dedicated to scholarships and structured educational support, in line with government policy.

According to the minister, this is only available to students entering or currently studying at Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions universities, colleges of education and polytechnics.

The statement noted that the minister’s gesture should therefore be understood for what it is, which is a personal act of generosity and encouragement, intended to celebrate the achievements of the young girls and inspire other Nigerian children to reach greater heights.

“The Federal Ministry of Education remains committed to recognising excellence, building a robust and globally competitive education system, and delivering on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of education as the cornerstone of national development. Every Nigerian child deserves access to world-class learning opportunities, and this remains our unwavering priority.

“This clarification should lay to rest any misinformation as we continue to encourage all Nigerian children to pursue excellence and reach the highest levels of academic achievement” the statement added.

The post Alausa Clarifies Donation to Teeneagle Winners, Says It’s Personal Gift appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.

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    Deputy Speaker Kalu, Finance Minister Resolve Indigenous Contractors Crisis With FG

    Deputy Speaker Kalu, Finance Minister Resolve Indigenous Contractors Crisis With FG

    In a significant development, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Thursday, successfully brokered a resolution through his intervention, bringing an end to the standoff between the Federal Government and indigenous contractors of Nigeria.

    This came after the contractors, owed for months, staged a protest in Abuja.

    Following his appointment as Chairman of the House Special Committee on Budget Implementation by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Kalu convened an expanded meeting with the contractors numbering over 80 across the country with their leadership for an open dialogue on the issue.

    In attendance were also the Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Shamseldeen Ogunjimi and other top government officials.

    After a marathon meeting lasting over four hours, Kalu announced that all parties had resolved the issues in the interest of the economy.

    Kalu’s intervention was hailed by the parties who said that it averted further disruptions, demonstrating the effectiveness of dialogue in resolving disputes.

    To this end, payments to contractors are expected to commence from Monday.

    Speaking at the end of the meeting, the Deputy Speaker said that a mutually beneficial agreement was reached, expressing his gratitude to the Speaker of the House and his colleagues for entrusting him with the responsibility.

    He also announced subsequent meetings later this month to evaluate progress.

    He said: “First of all, I want to thank the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abass, PhD, GCON, the leadership of the House for finding me worthy to be the Chairman of Budget Implementation Committee. We met yesterday, cut down our holidays to be able to reconvene and look into this all important matters.

    “We met on Wednesday with Finance Minister, Minister of Budget and Planning, Accountant-General of the Federation, Representatives that cut across all the caucuses of the House, including representation from the House Appropriation Committee and Finance.

    “We saw the protest and asked them to come, lets have a conversation. I want to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for appointing these gentlemen to occupy the positions they occupy.

    “They have shown humility in service. They’ve shown diligence in the way this matter has been handled and the parliament we are happy that all we discussed yesterday they started implementing today, the ability to engage with the people.

    “We had over 4 hours engagement and they left here smiling. We got the strategy in place, and we’re going to come back on the 21st of this month to review what we’ve done so far, how we’ve ticked the boxes, what needs to be done and the way forward.”

    Also speaking, the minister of finance, Edun commended the Deputy Speaker for his intervention, assuring that the payment will commence next week.

    “Under the leadership of the Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, we did hold a marathon meeting today where all the issues were discussed and a timeline was put in place and a way forward was mapped out and all parties at the end of it left knowing that contractors would be paid for jobs done and we have an orderly and systematic way of dealing with the backlogs which had approved overtime.

    “Once again, we commend the leadership of the House of Representatives and the contractors for their willingness to sit down and dialogue. The Accountant-General of the Federation made some commitments which helped us to chart the way forward.

    “We had a peaceful solution. A timeline was put in place and everyone accepted that there are steps that need to be taken, approvals, finalization and orderly procedure for payments. After Friday’s holiday, the Central Bank will open again on Monday and payments will commence immediately”, he said.

    The Accountant-General of the Federation, Ogunjimi corroborated the position of the minister of finance.

    “This process is ongoing. We’ve been paying contractors and we will continue to pay. From Monday, payments will start dropping”, he said.

    Earlier in the meeting, the leadership and membership of the association of indigenous contractors of Nigeria expressed satisfaction with the resolutions reached.

    Commending the Deputy Speaker for his intervention, they also pledged to discontinue with the protest.

    The post Deputy Speaker Kalu, Finance Minister Resolve Indigenous Contractors Crisis With FG appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.

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    In a significant development, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Thursday, successfully brokered a resolution through his intervention, bringing an end to the
    The post Deputy Speaker Kalu, Finance Minister Resolve Indigenous Contractors Crisis With FG appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.

    Jonathan: Nigerian Politics is Full of Traitors, Liars

    Jonathan: Nigerian Politics is Full of Traitors, Liars

    •’They will tell you something, the next hour they are saying another’

    •Says he has witnessed a lot of betrayals

    Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

    Former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday said that Nigeria’s political atmosphere is full of betrayals and lies.

    Jonathan stated this in Benin City during the 70th birthday ceremony of his former Chief of Staff and former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Chief Mike Ogiadomhe.

    The ceremony attracted many dignitaries, including former governors Lucky Igbinedion, Professor Osarhiemen Osunbor and Adams Oshiomhole and Ibrahim Dakwambo of Gombe State.

    Others included former deputy governors of the state, Rev. Peter Obadan, Pius Odubu, Marvelous Omobayo, Chief Judge of Edo State Daniel Okungbowa, Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku who led other members of the assembly, traditional rulers among others.

    Jonathan said Ogiadomhe was an ally that can be trusted at all time. When I became president, then post presidency, one of the few friends that could give up their necks for me is Mike. You know politics, in the Nigerian standard, is about betrayals.

    “You find it difficult to see somebody who will say the same thing in the morning and in the evening. I’ve witnessed a lot of betrayals, especially my 2015 election, and Mike is somebody who would take a bullet on my behalf.

    “He is somebody that you can take his word to the bank,  most other politicians, you cannot take their words to the bank. They will tell you something, the next hour they are saying another,” the former Nigerian President stated.

    On his part, the deputy governor of Edo State, Dennis Idahosa, who represented Governor Monday Okoebholo said the foundation Ogiadomhe laid as deputy is what is still being followed, while Lucky Igbinedion said he had no reservation handing over the affairs of the state to Ogiadomhe as his deputy governor when he needed to travel abroad.

    Also speaking, former Governor of the state,  Adams Oshiomhole said whenever he discussed politics with the celebrant, he always told him that wherever Jonathan is, that is where he would be, commending his wife, Lousia for being a dependable wife.

    The post Jonathan: Nigerian Politics is Full of Traitors, Liars appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.

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    •’They will tell you something, the next hour they are saying another’ •Says he has witnessed a lot of betrayals Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Former President of Nigeria, Dr.
    The post Jonathan: Nigerian Politics is Full of Traitors, Liars appeared first on THISDAYLIVE.

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