by fabulous reports
The Nigerian government has announced that all degree certificates issued by Cotonou University in Benin Republic from 2017 onwards will be rendered invalid, as reported by DAILY POST.
This decision was made public by the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, during a press conference in Abuja on Friday.
The government also stated that it will terminate the employment of workers with fake degrees from the Republics of Benin and Togo.
This move follows concerns over Nigerians obtaining certificates from unrecognized institutions in neighboring countries.
Minister Mamman explained that the decision was approved in a federal executive council meeting, led by President Bola Tinubu.
He mentioned that the government is working with other ministries and agencies, such as the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and Immigration, to enforce the new policy.
The Minister stated that the government cannot allow individuals with fake certificates to compete with Nigerian graduates who earned their degrees through years of hard work.
He revealed that, according to NYSC data, about 21,684 students are using fake certificates from Benin Republic, obtained between 2019 and 2023. Additionally, 1,105 students have fake degrees from Togo.
“Now the recommendations will be implemented along with other ministries and agencies affected, including NYSC, and Immigration.“
“Because we have to make some major decisions here, some staff who are affected faced disciplinary measures, and the whole unit went through some kind of review.“
“But by and large, we can’t have in our midst people who procure fake certificates and compete with our students who graduated from our universities and polytechnics through their sweat, some spent four, five, six, or more years going out to compete with people who procure certificates right here without going anywhere, for a lot of them.“
“So what the FEC now approves is that, through the data, that NYSC has, about 21,684 students are parading fake certificates from Benin Republic, obtained between 2019 to 2023,” he said.
