By Emiola Osifeso
The Taraba State Government has come under intense criticism following the launch of a controversial foreign “scholarship” programme that places heavy financial demands on applicants. According to a government-issued press release obtained by SaharaReporters on Wednesday, interested candidates are required to pay a compulsory €35 (about ₦62,391) as an application fee, while successful applicants must provide an additional €1,600 (₦2,852,160) in tuition fees.
With 5,000 candidates expected to apply, the state could generate over ₦300 million from application fees alone. If fully subscribed, tuition payments would amount to ₦14 billion, all of which is earmarked for the European Business University of Luxembourg.
Critics argue that the scheme unfairly burdens poor families while neglecting Taraba State University, which continues to suffer from inadequate funding, understaffing, and decaying infrastructure.
Human rights activist and #RevolutionNow convener, Omoyele Sowore, was among the first to condemn the initiative. In comments reported by SaharaReporters on September 3, 2025, Sowore accused Governor Agbu Kefas of abandoning schools, collapsing roads, and the welfare of citizens in favour of personal comfort and deceptive promises.
Former Vice Chancellor of Taraba State University, Professor Muhammad Sani Yahya, also described the scheme as “a Greek gift meant to make citizens poorer and enrich a select few in government.” In a strongly worded statement, he urged the government to cancel what he called a “deceptive attempt to milk out over ₦300 million from the poor in the name of a false foreign scholarship.”
Professor Yahya argued that the money could instead transform Taraba State University into a leading institution in Africa. He also alleged that the scheme had bypassed the Taraba State House of Assembly without appropriation, raising concerns of possible kickbacks and insider arrangements.
Public anger has grown across the state as residents question why billions are being channelled abroad while local institutions remain in dire straits. Yahya warned that pressing ahead with the scheme would plunge Taraba into “the deepest abyss of poverty” and called on the House of Assembly to reject it outright.
Efforts to reach the Taraba State Government for comments proved unsuccessful. The Commissioner for Information, Barrister Zainab Jalingo, and Professor Josiah Sabo Kente, who is listed as the scheme’s contact person, did not respond to multiple calls and messages from SaharaReporters.
The controversy has cast a spotlight on education funding in Taraba, fuelling debate over priorities and governance in one of Nigeria’s most resource-constrained states.
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