The House of Representatives has summoned several top government officials, including the Ministers of Education, Foreign Affairs, Youth Development, and Interior, as well as the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), to appear at an investigative hearing over rising concerns of certificate racketeering in Nigeria.
The public hearing, set for Monday, May 19, 2025, was announced by the Chairman of the House Joint Committee, Hon. Abubakar Hassan Fulata, in a statement released in Abuja on Saturday. He described the situation as troubling and vowed that the parliament would thoroughly investigate and address it.
According to the statement, the invitation has also been extended to the Committee of Vice Chancellors, the National Universities Commission (NUC), Penlight Media Ltd, the Ministry of Higher and Science Education in the Republic of Benin (Ambassade De La Republique Du Benin, Abuja), and other relevant stakeholders.
Fulata revealed that although formal letters had been sent to all concerned public and private bodies regarding the hearing, this public statement was necessary to remind heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and institutions of their obligation to appear. He warned that failure to do so would be seen as supporting corruption and certificate racketeering in Nigeria.
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The move by the House followed the publication of a damning investigative report by a Nigerian journalist who went undercover to expose a booming certificate black market. The journalist successfully obtained a degree from a university in Cotonou within weeks and completed the NYSC program shortly after.
“This unfortunate development in the education system is indeed alarming,” Fulata said. “It is even more worrisome that while most Nigerians go through the proper processes to earn their qualifications, others are obtaining certificates through illegal and unethical means, using them to secure jobs and professional roles.”
Fulata emphasized that the act of obtaining fake academic certificates is not only illegal but also dangerous to Nigeria’s future, economy, and credibility.
He disclosed that despite earlier requests, key agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and the Nigerian Immigration Service have not submitted their reports to the committee.
Moreover, Fulata expressed concern over the lack of response from many institutions. So far, 52 federal universities, 61 state universities, and 93 private universities are yet to make their submissions to the committee investigating certificate racketeering in Nigeria.
The lawmaker reiterated that this investigation is crucial to protecting the nation’s education sector and the integrity of qualifications issued within and outside Nigeria.
