The Federal Government has dismissed workers in its Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) who obtained degrees from private universities in Togo and Benin Republic.
Beyond Boders reports that the decision applies to certificates earned from 2017 to date.
Segun Imohiosen, Director of Information and Public Relations at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), confirmed this development on Wednesday.
In August, the government announced that only eight universities in Togo and Benin Republic were accredited to award degrees to Nigerians. This decision followed an investigation where a journalist obtained a degree from a Benin Republic university in just two months and used it to enroll in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
As a result, the government stopped recognizing degrees from unapproved institutions in these countries.
It also created an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee to probe certificate fraud.
The former Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fake certificates from universities in Togo and Benin Republic. These certificates have now been invalidated.
Mamman emphasized that some Nigerians did not even leave the country to get these certificates, collaborating instead with racketeers. He called on the private sector to join efforts to identify workers with fake degrees.
“The fake universities capitalised on the gullibility of Nigerians patronising such fake schools. The Federal Government, through the offices of the Head of Civil Service and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, would fish out those in the government’s employment with such fake certificates,” Mamman stated.
A directive from the SGF’s office instructed all MDAs to identify and dismiss affected workers. According to an anonymous source, this action is part of the recommendations from the investigative committee.
The NYSC has already acted on the directive. Caroline Embu, NYSC’s Director of Information, confirmed that five staff members were sacked due to their questionable certificates.
“Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the office of the SGF. No more,” she said.
The government has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining integrity in education and public service.
