The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has officially authenticated the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results of Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, in a development that comes amid persistent public petitions questioning the minister’s academic credentials.
In December 2025, the Centre for Leadership Legacy International (Centre LLI), a civil society organisation, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order an official investigation into “allegations surrounding the minister’s academic records,” particularly focusing on his WAEC certificate. Critics had suggested irregularities in Tunji-Ojo’s academic documentation, although his allies have consistently characterised the claims as politically motivated attempts to discredit him.
The attestation document, obtained by TheCable via the minister’s media office, verifies Tunji-Ojo’s WASSCE result and contains key security features including an embossed photograph, the official WAEC certificate number NGWASSCS 707650, and the signatures of both the registrar to council and the head of WAEC’s national office.
According to the attestation certificate, “Tunji-Ojo attended the Staff Secondary School at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, where he sat for the Senior Secondary School Examination in June 1999.”
Adding that, “He was entered in nine subjects, including Economics, English Language, Mathematics, Agricultural Science and Physics, with the results showing a mix of high and solid grades such as B3 in Economics, A1 in Agricultural Science and Yoruba Language, and B2 in Mathematics.”
WAEC attestation documents are issued to replace or verify an original certificate and are widely recognised as authentic representations of a candidate’s examination performance when the original is lost or otherwise unavailable.
The academic verification comes against the backdrop of ongoing scrutiny of Tunji-Ojo’s credentials. Earlier concerns had been raised about his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate, with critics alleging inconsistencies in dates. Tunji-Ojo has maintained that he served in the NYSC between November 2019 and November 2020.
The NYSC later clarified that the minister’s certificate is genuine, explaining that his name was initially omitted when certificates were printed in 2020 and was subsequently produced in February 2023 after an administrative application.
Despite the NYSC’s explanation, advocacy groups and opposition voices have periodically revived the issue, asserting that the matter deserves further scrutiny. Supporters of the minister, however, including pro-Tunji-Ojo civil society factions and political allies, have defended his record, describing the renewed allegations as “baseless” and politically motivated efforts to undermine his leadership.
Tunji-Ojo was appointed as Minister of Interior in 2023 by President Tinubu and is responsible for agencies overseeing internal security, migration, correctional services, and border management. The minister’s office, while releasing the authenticated WAEC attestation, has reiterated that his educational history and professional trajectory are legitimate and transparent.
The WAEC’s official attestation provides a clear professional shield and formal validation of the minister’s secondary school qualifications, potentially quieting further debate over his academic legitimacy, though detractors may yet pursue additional avenues of challenge.
