The Federal Government has sacked civil servants who earned degrees from private universities in Togo and Benin Republic from 2017 till date.
This move follows an investigation revealing widespread certificate fraud involving these institutions.
The crackdown began after a journalist exposed how degrees from some schools in Benin Republic could be acquired in just two months and used for official processes like the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
As a result, the government banned the accreditation and recognition of degrees from these countries and initiated a probe into certificate fraud.
A committee set up to address the issue revealed over 22,500 Nigerians had obtained fake degrees from Togo and Benin Republic.
These certificates are now deemed invalid.
Government agencies, including the NYSC, have begun implementing the dismissal directive, with several workers already relieved of their duties.
Although the exact number of affected civil servants could not be ascertained, it was gathered that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (Cabinet Affairs) had issued a memo to all the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to implement the order.
A source stated, “There was a letter from the SGF cabinet affairs directing all ministries, departments and agencies of government to identify and terminate the appointments of workers employed with certificates obtained from the private universities in the Republic of Benin and Togo from 2017 to date.
“The decision is part of the recommendations of the committee set up to investigate the certificates of people who graduated from the universities.”
The NYSC Director of Information, Caroline Embu, confirmed that five members of staff had been sacked in line with the SGF’s directive.
She said, “Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the office of the SGF. No more.”
