The Federal Government has terminated the employment of civil servants who obtained degrees from private universities in Benin Republic and Togo between 2017 and the present day. This action stems from findings that many of the degrees from these institutions were acquired through fraudulent means, leading to concerns about the credibility of such qualifications.
The Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Segun Imohiosen, confirmed the development on Wednesday. The government’s decision follows an earlier announcement in August that only eight universities in the two countries were accredited to award degrees recognized in Nigeria.
The crackdown was prompted by an investigative report from FRONTPAGE, where a journalist successfully obtained a degree from a Benin Republic university in just two months and used it to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program.
The Federal Government subsequently banned the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from all tertiary institutions in Benin Republic and Togo. It also set up an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling to investigate the activities of certificate racketeers.
The committee’s findings revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians had obtained fake degrees from the two countries, prompting the government to cancel these certificates. Former Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, stated that individuals with such degrees not only damaged Nigeria’s reputation but also undermined the nation’s educational standards. He insisted that the decision to invalidate the certificates was necessary to uphold integrity in the public sector.
Mamman further highlighted that many of those parading the fake certificates never attended the institutions they claimed to graduate from but instead procured the certificates through racketeering facilitated by officials both locally and internationally. He added that the Federal Government, through the offices of the Head of Civil Service and the SGF, would ensure that such individuals are identified and dismissed. Mamman also called on private sector organizations to take similar steps in verifying employee qualifications.
The SGF issued a memo directing Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to identify and terminate the appointments of employees with degrees from unapproved institutions in Benin Republic and Togo. A source familiar with the directive disclosed that this action aligns with the committee’s recommendations and reflects the government’s determination to eliminate fake certifications from the workforce.
The NYSC has already begun implementing the directive, dismissing five staff members found to have obtained degrees from unapproved institutions. NYSC Director of Information, Caroline Embu, confirmed the action, stating, “Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the office of the SGF.”
The government remains resolute in its stance, insisting that the measure is essential to preserve the credibility of Nigeria’s education system and ensure that public servants are qualified and capable. By addressing the proliferation of fake degrees, the Federal Government aims to restore trust in both the education and employment sectors.
