The Federal Government has directed all Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs) and higher institutions in Nigeria to begin strict verification of academic credentials from October 6, 2025, in a nationwide clampdown on fake certificates.
This directive was contained in a circular dated August 8, 2025, issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, and made available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.
Akume said no appointment would henceforth be confirmed without clearance from the National Credential Verification Service (NCVS) under the National Education Repository and Databank (NERD) programme.
“Effective from October 6, 2025, all Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as all higher institutions in Nigeria, whether civilian, military, private or public, are to commence the implementation of an intensive yet structured verification of the academic credentials of all staff and intending staff through the National Credential Verification Service,” Akume said.
According to him, the clearance would affirm the authenticity of academic qualifications presented and would carry a National Credential Number (NCN) with ancillary security codes for record purposes.
He explained that the reform, which moves away from relying on individual institutions to verify certificates, embeds a national quality assurance mechanism to curtail academic fraud, fake degrees and bogus honours.
The policy, which invokes Section 10(1) of the Education (National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions) Act, 1985, assigns enforcement responsibility to NERD. The initiative was first proposed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in May 2023 and approved by the Federal Executive Council earlier this year.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who introduced the NCVS in March, described the scheme as a systemic quality assurance measure aimed at protecting national security, education integrity, and global competitiveness of Nigeria’s education sector.
In a statement, Haula Galadima, Executive Director of Communication and Cybersecurity at NERD, said the agency’s services are fully ready for nationwide deployment. She urged MDAs, post-secondary schools, tertiary institutions, and the private sector to enrol their NERD Focal Persons and Digitisation Officers via the agency’s website.
She added that NERD’s mandate includes administering the National School Number (NSN), National Credential Number (NCN) and National Document Number, as well as hosting a national database of resource persons for instant verification of genuine honours.
Galadima emphasised that NERD would serve as Nigeria’s “one-stop shop” for educational data consistency, facilitating coordination of decentralised systems for the national interest.
The NERD Governing Council, chaired by the Minister of Education, also includes the leadership of the NUC, NBTE, NCCE, National Library, Nigeria Data Protection Commission and committees of vice-chancellors, rectors, and provosts nationwide.
