The House of Representative is to probe alleged certificate racketeering by Nigerian students in collusion with some officials of government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
This followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Abubakar Fulata (APC-Jigawa) at plenary in Abuja.
Fulata, said the country had been plagued by a scandal involving one Umar Audu, a journalist who went undercover to investigate a booming business in Benin Republic.
He Audu obtained a certificate and transcript from the Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies, ESGT, Cotonou, Benin Republic, and participated in the NYSC scheme within a month.
The lawmaker said the Ministry of Education often authenticate certificates obtained outside the country before participation in the NYSC.
The House adopted the motion, and condemned in its entirety the act of certificate racketeering by Nigerian students in collusion with some officials MDAs.
The House mandated its Committee on University Education to investigate the matter and identify those involved.
The House also mandated the committees to identify officials of MDAs and others involved and also identified the students that had benefited from such institutions and their campuses in Nigeria.
Following the revelations by the journalist, the Federal Government has since blacklisted some of the foreign universities with campuses in Nigeria, just as it has also stopped recognizing certificates from Benin Republic, Togo and some other countries.
The Federal Ministry of Education has also threatened to sanction any one with such certificate just as it has asked security agencies to go after Nigerians using such certificates with a view ti identifying and prosecuting the culprits.
