The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to rescind its blanket invalidation of degree certificates obtained from institutions in the Benin Republic and Togo.
The call followed the adoption of a report by the House Committee on Public Petitions during plenary on Wednesday, March 11.
Presenting the report, the committee chairman, Laori Kwamoti, said the decision was based on a petition submitted by Sovereignty Legal Practitioners on behalf of stakeholders in the education sector.
According to him, the petition challenged the Federal Government’s decision to invalidate degrees obtained from institutions in the two West African countries over concerns about academic fraud.
In its recommendations, the committee urged the government to reverse the blanket ban, warning that the measure could unfairly affect graduates who legitimately obtained their qualifications.
The lawmakers instead recommended the adoption of a case-by-case verification process to address confirmed cases of fraud rather than imposing a general sanction on all certificates issued in the two countries.
The House also called on the Federal Ministry of Education to work with education authorities in Benin Republic and Togo to strengthen verification systems, curb academic fraud and ensure proper authentication of foreign qualifications.
In January 2024, the Federal Government suspended the accreditation and evaluation of degree certificates from the two countries following an undercover investigation that exposed widespread certificate racketeering.
