Nigerian government claims there are more than 20,000 people holding fake certificates

Education Minister Prof. Tahir Mamman said on Friday at least 21,600 people were displaying fake certificates obtained from institutions in Benin Republic, Togo and others.

Mamman disclosed this during a ministerial press conference to mark one year of his tenure in Abuja.

He said 1,105 students held fake certificates from Togo alone.

The Federal Government in March formed the Inter-Ministerial Investigation Committee on Degree Certificate Forgery to probe the activities of certificate racketeers.

This follows an investigative report that exposed the activities of fake degree-granting institutions in the Republic of Benin.

The minister stressed that fake degrees from Nigerian and foreign universities would be weeded out of the system.

He said: “The federal government has ordered the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) to issue a circular to expel anyone with fake certificates from these institutions.

READ ALSO: JAMB accuses Nigerian universities of issuing fake certificates

“In Togo, there are three universities that are officially approved and licensed to offer degree programs, and in Benin Republic, we have five institutions that are licensed for degree programs.”

Mamman said that in the past year, his ministry had returned around four million drop-out children to school.

He said that this achievement was thanks to the hard work of agencies in the Ministry.

“From now on, every year, we will bring back about four million out-of-school children to school to address this threat.

“The Almajiri Commission, which was formed about a year ago, has been very helpful in getting out-of-school children back to school.

“In the last two weeks, through the Almajiri Commission, about 20,000 students in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have registered to resume their studies in the next academic session.

“This movement will spread to other states and we will ensure our children return to school.

“We have also formed a committee with UNESCO and the World Bank to review existing policies on teacher support, welfare and development using global best practices.

“When the government implements this policy in the next three years, the education system will change completely,” he said.

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