The House of Representatives has asked the Federal Government to reconsider its decision to place a blanket ban on university degrees obtained from the Republic of Benin and Togo.
The lawmakers made the appeal after adopting a report presented by the House Committee on Public Petitions during plenary on Wednesday.
Presenting the report, the committee chairman, Laori Kwamoti, said the recommendation followed a petition filed by Sovereignty Legal Practitioners on behalf of stakeholders in Nigeria’s education sector.
According to him, the petition questioned the government’s decision to invalidate certificates issued by institutions in the two neighbouring West African countries. The policy was introduced amid concerns over widespread academic fraud linked to some foreign institutions.
However, the committee warned that enforcing a blanket ban could unfairly affect many graduates who genuinely obtained their qualifications.
To address the issue more fairly, the lawmakers recommended that the Federal Government adopt a verification-based approach instead of a total ban. This would allow authorities to investigate and identify fraudulent certificates individually while protecting the interests of legitimate graduates.
The House also urged the Federal Ministry of Education to strengthen collaboration with educational authorities in the Republic of Benin and Togo. Such cooperation, the lawmakers said, would help improve the verification of academic credentials, curb certificate racketeering, and ensure that foreign qualifications are properly authenticated.
The Federal Government had earlier suspended the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from the two countries in January 2024 after an undercover investigation exposed widespread certificate fraud involving some institutions.
Advertisement
