The Nigerian Government has declared that only eight universities have been accredited and given the go ahead to award degrees to Nigerians in Togo and Benin Republic respectively.
This was made known to newsmen on Sunday night, when the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, appeared on a national television political programme.
The minister, during a press conference last Friday to mark his one year in office, declared that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from the two countries, and such certificates are not recognized in the country and therefore, would be cancelled.
The Education boss said that the revelation was part of a report submitted to the Federal Executive Council by a committee with the vision to investigate the issue of degree certificates received from foreign and local universities in Nigeria.
He further added that the discovery follows the undercover probing report in which a Nigerian journalist acquired a degree from a university in Benin Republic in under two months. The said degree was used to get deployed for the compulsory one year service of the National Youth Service Corps.
While Speaking during the programme, the minister said the federal government only recognizes three institutions in Togo and five in Benin Republic while identifying others as illegal institutions.
According to Mamman the public universities recognized by the federal government to offer degree programmes in Togo to students from Nigeria are Universite De Lome, Universite De Kara and the Catholic University of West Africa
The accredited universities authorized to offer degree programmes in Benin Republic to students from Nigeria include Universite D’abomey-Calavi, Universite De Parakou, Universite Nationale Des Sciences, Technologis Ingenierie Et Mathematiques, Universite Nationale D’ Agriculture and Universite Africaine De Devlopment Cooperatif.
In the statement he said:“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 federal government, through the offices of the Head of Civil Service and the Secretary of the Federation, would fish out those in the government’s employment with such fake certificates. I also urge the private sector to follow suit.”
The minister also made it clear to the public that there is not going to be any reversal on the decision made by the federal government to cancel about 22,700 certificates awarded to Nigerians by some “fake” universities in Togo and Benin Republic.
He maintained that the decision to reject the certificates was not harsh, as Nigerians who obtained degree certificates from such “illegal” tertiary institutions will dent the nation’s image.
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