The Federal Government has sacked some civil servants who obtained degrees from private tertiary institutions in Benin Republic and Togo.
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 the institutions from 2017 to date.
The government’s decision follows an undercover investigation report that revealed some universities in Benin Republic and Togo were awarding fake degrees to Nigerians.
In August, the Federal Government announced that only eight universities had been accredited to award degrees to Nigerians in Togo and Benin Republic.
The Federal Government also set up an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling to probe the activities of certificate racketeers.
The committee’s report revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo, and these certificates would be cancelled.
The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (Cabinet Affairs) has issued a memo to all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to implement the order.
Some agencies, including the National Youth Services Corps, have already commenced the implementation of the directive, with five members of staff sacked.
The government’s decision to sack civil servants with fake degrees is aimed at protecting the integrity of the Nigerian education system and preventing the proliferation of fake certificates.
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Jerome Kalu
Jerome Kalu is currently the Senior Correspondent of PIJAlance in Lagos. He was previously the Campus Information Desk (CID) Editor.