Education Minister, Prof. Tahir Mamman
The President of the Centre de Perfectionnement aux Techniques Economiques et Commerciales (CPTEC), Prof. Tunde Adeyemi, has refuted the Nigerian Federal Government’s claim that only three recognized degree-awarding institutions exist in Togo.
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This statement came in response to the remarks made by Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, who disclosed findings from a committee investigating certificate fraud in neighboring countries.
Prof. Mamman had stated during a one-year anniversary speech that the Ministry had discovered cases of Nigerian students acquiring fake certificates from institutions in Benin Republic and Togo.
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According to him, only three universities in Togo and five in Benin are officially accredited to issue degrees, meaning that many students with certificates from unrecognized institutions were holding invalid qualifications.
However, Prof. Adeyemi, speaking alongside members of the CPTEC governing council, challenged these claims, asserting that Togo has over 40 accredited degree-awarding institutions.
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He explained that the Federal Government likely misunderstood the Togolese education system, which includes universities, institutes, and higher colleges, all of which have the authority to issue degrees.
Adeyemi pointed out that Togo’s Ministry of Higher Learning had clarified the educational structure to Nigeria, yet the Nigerian government misinterpreted the information, likely due to differences in educational frameworks between English-speaking and French-speaking countries.
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He further noted that the Nigerian Ministry of Education failed to provide a detailed list of the supposedly unaccredited institutions, which raised concerns among stakeholders.
The controversy comes after the Nigerian government’s decision to halt the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from Togo, following earlier concerns about fraudulent certificates from Benin Republic.
Adeyemi called for clarity, urging the Nigerian government to release more specific findings and work with Togo’s Ministry of Higher Learning to resolve the matter properly.
