The Kano State government on Friday, October 11, 2024, said it has launched an investigation into an alleged N1.5 billion foreign scholarship fraud at the state’s Ministry of Education.
The Kano State Anti-corruption and Public Complaints Commission said that two staff of the ministry are being investigated concerning 1,001 postgraduate students studying in Uganda and India.
According to the agency, investigations have shown that out of 1,001 postgraduate students supposedly sent abroad to study for their master’s, only 418 of them actually left the country for this purpose.
Recall that the Kano State governor, Abba Yusuf had inaugurated the foreign scholarship scheme and hosted a farewell dinner for the dailies batch of 500 beneficiaries.
This foreign scholarship is an initiative introduced in Kano by former governor Rabiu Kwankwaso as a means to alleviate poverty among the people of the state.
However, giving details into the investigation so far, the spokesperson for the anti-corruption agency, Kabiru Kabiru confirmed that two officials are being questioned for their involvement in the suspected fraud.
Kabiru said, “Preliminary investigations uncovered fraudulent activities at the office of the Ministry for Higher Education over the postgraduate students to pursue their master’s degrees in India and Uganda.
“We opened the investigation to find out the truth of the matter. Whoever is found to have been involved, will be prosecuted, no matter how highly placed,” Mr Kabiru said.
