WAEC authenticates Tunji-Ojo’s secondary school certificate amid renewed petitions

WAEC authenticates Tunji-Ojo’s secondary school certificate amid renewed petitions

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has authenticated the Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) result of Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, minister of interior, TheCable can report.

In December 2025, the Centre for Leadership Legacy International (Centre LLI), a civil society organisation, had asked President Bola Tinubu to order a probe of “allegations surrounding the minister’s academic records”, particularly his WAEC certificate.

Previously, questions were asked over Tunji-Ojo’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.

Although his associates dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, the allegations continued to surface on social media and in press releases on a regularly basis.

SAT FOR WASSCE IN JUNE 1999

The WAEC document, titled Attestation of Results, states that Tunji-Ojo attended the Staff Secondary School at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, and sat for the Senior Secondary School Examination in June 1999.

The attestation certificate, made available to TheCable by his media office, bears the minister’s full name, date of birth, embossed photograph, original certificate number and official authentication markings.

According to the document, Tunji-Ojo sat for nine subjects — Economics, English Language, Yoruba Language, Further Mathematics, Mathematics, Agricultural Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

The grades recorded show that the minister earned B3 in Economics, B2 in Mathematics, A1 in Agricultural Science, B3 in Biology, C6 in Chemistry, C6 in English Language, A1 in Yoruba Language, C6 in Further Mathematics, and B3 in Physics.

The certificate carries the original WAEC certificate number NGWASSCS 707650, alongside a candidate identification number and the official signatures of the registrar to council and the head of the national office.

WAEC’s security features, including the embossed photograph and institutional seals, are also visible on the document.

WAEC attestations are issued by the examination body to replace or verify original certificates and are recognised as valid representations of candidates’ results.

Tunji-Ojo was appointed by Tinubu in 2023 to oversee agencies responsible for internal security, migration, correctional services and border management.

THE NYSC CERTIFICATE

After his appointment, his academic records, submitted to the president and the senate during the screening and confirmation process came under public scrutiny.

In August 2023, a report questioned the minister’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.

Tunji-Ojo said he served in the NYSC scheme between November 2019 and November 2020.

But his NYSC certificate showed that it was issued in February 2023 and signed by Yushau Ahmed, the director-general (DG), in January.

Clarifying the dates, NYSC said Tunji-Ojo’s certificate is genuine, noting that the minister was first mobilised in 2006 but “absconded from the service”.

NYSC said Tunji-Ojo resurfaced in 2018, was remobilised in 2019, and deployed to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in Garki, Abuja as his primary place of assignment, adding that his certificate was omitted when others were printed in 2020.

Despite the clarification by the NYSC, different groups continue to raise the issue from time to time, leading to allegations of a smear campaign by vested interests.