President Bola Tinubu has announced that a scholarship programme for students from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to study in Nigerian universities will commence in the next academic year.
This was contained in a press statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Monday.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Saint Lucian Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre in Gros Islet on Monday, President Tinubu said the initiative, already underway, is part of broader efforts to strengthen people-to-people ties and boost cooperation in education, trade, and development between Nigeria and the OECS.
A joint implementation committee comprising representatives from Nigeria and OECS member states has been set up to finalise modalities and ensure the timely rollout of the scholarship scheme.
He said, ‘I believe we can take advantage of our presence here to get from the fruit that is lower to us and then reach the opportunity we have right here.
‘The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States is very close to us in Africa, and I thank them for the opportunity to address the joint session of Parliament and actualise our dreams of getting closer to facilitate business and education opportunities, capacity building, and look at other areas of agriculture and food security.
‘We can easily do that by having a working commission. And we don’t have to look farther away. The organisation itself has indicated several actions. We are moving forward from there. We won’t drop the ball’.
President Tinubu also revealed that a proposal to waive visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and official passports from OECS countries is being worked on.
Prime Minister Pierre welcomed the scholarship programme as ‘a timely and practical expression of solidarity’.
‘We expect students to begin their studies in Nigeria in the next academic year, based on the President’s directive. This is immediate action’, the Prime Minister said.
He said visa facilitation, along with improved air connectivity and trade, would be a top priority for the Nigeria–OECS Joint Committee.
Earlier, President Tinubu had addressed a special joint session of Saint Lucia’s Parliament, outlining his vision for a new phase of engagement with the OECS.
The scholarship scheme and other bilateral initiatives mark part of President Tinubu’s broader push to deepen ties between Africa and the Caribbean.
