The National Universities Commission (NUC), has denounced the list of fake professors in some Nigerian universities being circulated in the media.

Chris Maiyaki, NUC Acting Executive Secretary, described the list as ‘fake, unfounded, untrue and a figment of the imagination of the author(s)’.

The list, he explained, was initially published by the Commission in 2019, stressing that efforts are ongoing to update it. Maiyaki, therefore, questioned the rationale behind recycling a stale list four years later.

The Acting Executive Secretary accused unscrupulous persons of plotting to create panic and provoking outcries at both national and international levels.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Commission can confirm that it initiated in 2019 a laudable project, with the intent of compiling and publishing a list of full Professors in the Nigerian Universities System (NUS) through the use of an online portal to collate the requisite data. During the exercise, the NUC found anomalies, such as Associate Professors being listed as full Professors.

“It is essential to also state clearly that the Commission as a responsible Federal Government Agency, does not engage in half-baked exercises capable of tarnishing the image of Nigeria and the NUS. That was why the Commission deemed it necessary to share the collated data with the Nigerian Universities for the purpose of authentication by the competent authourities as to who qualifies to be a full professor.

“Based on the verified data, the Commission then in a landmark accomplishment, first published the list of full Professors who participated in the exercise in 2019. It was understood that this would be succeeded by a continuous process of updating the list of full Professors. It is important to state at this point that all the issues pertaining to the 2019 verification of full Professors in Nigerian Universities were concluded in 2019. Since then, the Commission has entrenched a more reliable system of generating the list of full Professors in the NUS.

“The Commission is also conscious of the fact that some of the academics not captured in the 2019 exercise may now have matured and progressed to become full Professors; this being the reason why it continuously updates the list of full Professors in the NUS.

“The National Universities Commission owes it a solemn duty to protect and guard the integrity of the many hardworking and committed academics in the NUS, who have earned national and international respect and recognition. Therefore, the Commission has been saddled with the vital and strategic responsibility by its enabling laws, to uphold the sanctity of quality in all aspects of our University Education delivery.”

A viral report had listed over 100 individuals as ‘fake professors’ and linked them to various universities.

However, some of the institutions including University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, Covenant University, University of Ilorin, Redeemers University among others have since denied harbouring fake professors. (The Guardian: Text, Excluding Headline)

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