Esther Salifu
The Federal Government has dismissed some civil servants who obtained degrees from private tertiary institutions in Benin Republic and Togo, which were not accredited by the Nigerian government.
The directive, which was confirmed by the Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, affected federal workers who graduated from these institutions from 2017 to date.
This decision follows an undercover investigation report that revealed a journalist acquired a degree from a university in Benin Republic in just two months and used it to participate in the National Youth Service Corps scheme. As a result, the government banned the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from unapproved institutions in Benin Republic and Togo.
The then Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo, which would be cancelled. Mamman stated, “Most of those parading the fake certificates didn’t even leave the shores of Nigeria but got their certificates through racketeering in collaboration with government officials at home and abroad. The fake universities capitalised on the gullibility of Nigerians patronising such fake schools.”
The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation has issued a memo to all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to implement the order, and some agencies like the National Youth Services Corps have already commenced the implementation of the directive. The NYSC Director of Information, Caroline Embu, confirmed that five members of staff had been sacked in line with the SGF’s directive .
Caroline stated “Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the office of the SGF. No more.”
The official who pleaded to be anonymous stated, “There was a letter from the SGF cabinet affairs directing all ministries, departments and agencies of government to identify and terminate the appointments of workers employed with certificates obtained from the private universities in the Republic of Benin and Togo from 2017 to date.
“The decision is part of the recommendations of the committee set up to investigate the certificates of people who graduated from the universities.”
