EXCLUSIVE: TUNJI-OJO’S SECONDARY SCHOOL CERTIFICATE VALIDATED BY WAEC FOLLOWING NEW PETITIONS

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By: Fasasi Hammad

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has officially authenticated the Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) result of Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, TheCable can report.

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

Questions had also previously been raised over Tunji-Ojo’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate. While the minister’s associates dismissed the claims as politically motivated, the allegations have periodically resurfaced in social media discussions and press releases.

Sat for WASSCE in June 1999

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

The attestation certificate, provided to TheCable by the minister’s media office, includes his 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.

His grades were recorded as follows: 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 number NGWASSCS 707650, alongside a candidate identification number and official signatures from the WAEC registrar and head of the national office. WAEC’s security features, including the embossed photograph and institutional seals, are also present.

WAEC attestations serve to replace or verify original certificates and are officially recognised as valid representations of candidates’ results.

Tunji-Ojo was appointed Minister of Interior in 2023, overseeing agencies responsible for internal security, migration, correctional services, and border management.

The NYSC Certificate Controversy

Following his appointment, Tunji-Ojo’s academic records, submitted to the president and senate during his screening and confirmation, came under scrutiny. In August 2023, a report questioned his NYSC certificate.

Tunji-Ojo stated that he served in the NYSC scheme between November 2019 and November 2020. However, his certificate showed it was issued in February 2023 and signed by Director-General Yushau Ahmed in January.

NYSC clarified that the certificate is genuine, explaining that Tunji-Ojo was first mobilised in 2006 but “absconded from the service.” He resurfaced in 2018, was remobilised in 2019, and deployed to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in Garki, Abuja. His certificate was omitted when others were printed in 2020.

Despite this clarification, questions continue to be raised periodically, with critics alleging a smear campaign by vested interests.