FG Confirms Dismissal of Workers with Togo, Benin Republic Degrees from 2017

The Federal Government of Nigeria has confirmed the dismissal of civil servants holding certificates from unaccredited private tertiary institutions in the Benin Republic and Togo. The affected individuals are those who graduated from these institutions between 2017 and the present, as part of efforts to sanitize the nation’s civil service.

Segun Imohiosen, spokesperson for the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), announced the development on Wednesday. The government’s move follows investigations revealing widespread acquisition of fraudulent degrees from these countries.

In August, the Federal Government disclosed that only eight universities in the Benin Republic and Togo were accredited to award degrees to Nigerians. This announcement came after a journalist, Umar Audu, exposed how he obtained a degree from a Benin Republic institution within two months and used it to join the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

In response to the exposé, the government banned the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from unverified institutions in these countries and other foreign universities. An interministerial investigative committee was subsequently established to probe the activities of degree mills and certificate racketeers.

The former Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, later revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians had obtained fake degrees from institutions in the Benin Republic and Togo. He announced that these certificates would be invalidated.

Recent reports indicate that ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) have begun implementing the directive. For instance, the NYSC confirmed the dismissal of five staff members who possessed degrees from unaccredited institutions. Caroline Embu, the NYSC’s Director of Information, stated, “Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the Office of the SGF.”