The Federal Government has listed only eight universities accredited to award degrees to Nigerians in Togo and Benin Republic.
Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education disclosed this yesterday night while speaking on Channels TV, stating that the decision becomes necessary in a bid to sanitise the education system.
Recall that an undercover reporter procured a fake degree from Benin Republic and got mobilised to participate in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
The Education Minister had recently lamented that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from the two countries, stressing that such certificates would be cancelled.
A few days ago, the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu lamented over the case of certificate racketeering, where a Committee was set up to probe degrees from Togo and Benin Republic especially.
The minister stated that only three institutions are recognised in Togo and five in Benin Republic, as he labelled others outside the eight as illegal institutions.
Mamman listed the public universities below as the federal government-approved institutions to offer degree programs in Togo for students from Nigeria. Universite De Lome, Universite De Kara and Catholic University of West Africa.
The Benin Republic, students from Nigeria could attend 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.
He maintained that there’s no going back on the decision of the Federal Government to cancel about 22,500 certificates awarded to Nigerians by some “fake” universities in neighbouring Togo and Benin Republic.
Mamman 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 to the Government 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,” Mamman added.
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