The House of Representatives has initiated an inquiry into the purported certificate fraud carried out by certain officials of Federal Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, which reportedly affects Nigerian students.
Representative Abubakar Fulata, Chair of the Joint Committee on Certificate Racketeering, pledged to address this issue in tertiary institutions during their session in Abuja.
He emphasised that if left unchecked, certificate fraud could severely impact the healthcare system and other sectors of the economy.
Fulata said the House mandated its Committees on University Education, Interior Foreign Affairs and Youths Development to investigate the matter and report back.
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“This has been a burning issue in both public and private institutions where there are seemingly less observance of rules, regulations, processes, quality assurance, among others.
He said there was a need to get to the root of the illicit act and proffer solutions while appealing to MDAs and relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the committee in order to achieve the desired result.
A Nigerian reporter, Umar Audu, had in December 2022, bagged a degree from a university in Cotonou, Benin Republic, in six weeks and subsequently participated in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps scheme.
Audu subsequently accused unnamed officials of the Ministry of Education as members of the racketeering syndicate; a development that elicited widespread criticisms by well-meaning Nigerians.
Leading the debate on the motion, Fulata called on the House to “identify officials of MDAs and students who benefited from such institutions and their campuses in the last ten years.
(NAN)
