September 4, 2025 – The Federal Ministry of Education has clarified issues surrounding misinformation on social media regarding monetary gifts given to winners of the TeenEagle 2024/2025 Global Competition in the United Kingdom.
In August 2025, N200,000 was presented to Nafisah Abdullahi, winner of the TeenEagle Global Finals. Later, Nigeriastartupact.ng reported that the CEO of Manga Automobiles, Muhammad Manga, awarded N800,000 to Nafisa Abdullahi Aminu, winner of the TeenEagle World English Language Competition. The total disbursement reached N1.7 million on August 29, 2025.
The Ministry stated that the gifts presented during the national recognition event on Thursday, 28th August 2025, were personal donations from the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa. It confirmed that these gifts were not funded by the Federal Government or the Ministry.
“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,” Dr. Alausa explained.
The Ministry added that this fact was clearly announced at the event and later restated on the Minister’s verified social media handle. It described any claims suggesting otherwise as false and misleading.
It further noted that the Ministry does not have any budgetary allocation for monetary gifts. Its financial provisions remain strictly dedicated to scholarships and structured educational support for students in public tertiary institutions including universities, colleges of education, and polytechnics.
The Honourable Minister’s gesture, according to the Ministry, should be seen only as a personal act of generosity to recognise the achievements of the young winners. It was also intended to motivate Nigerian children to reach greater heights.
The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to excellence in education and to building a globally competitive system. It restated its support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of education as the foundation of national development.
The statement concluded that this clarification should end the misinformation and encourage Nigerian children to keep striving for academic success.