ABUJA, Nigeria – The Federal Ministry of Education has announced the full automation of its academic credential evaluation and authentication services, officially ending the long-standing requirement for applicants to travel to the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja for physical document validation, the Federal Government confirmed on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
The digital overhaul marks a major administrative milestone aimed at dismantling bureaucratic hurdles, expediting verification timelines, and eliminating third-party touting and extortion that have historically plagued manual certificate authentication across public offices.
Okay News reports that the announcement was contained in an official statement signed and issued in Abuja by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the ministry, Boriowo Folasade.
Announcing the rollout, the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, stated that the transition to an automated ecosystem forms a critical component of the Federal Government’s broader public sector digital transformation agenda, directly supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Under the newly deployed architecture, candidates seeking domestic and overseas higher education admissions, foreign credential evaluations, professional licensure verifications, or employment clearances can complete the entire evaluation and authentication lifecycle online through the ministry’s dedicated verification portal.
The reform is engineered to eliminate unnecessary travel expenses and security risks for applicants across the country and the diaspora, enabling citizens to submit documents, track status updates, and obtain authenticated electronic clearances remotely.
Dr. Alausa emphasized that the digitized platform will substantially reinforce the institutional integrity and international credibility of Nigeria’s academic certification ecosystem.
The minister explained that the platform provides accredited higher education institutions, corporate employers, foreign embassies, and global evaluation agencies with a seamless, tamper-proof mechanism to verify the authenticity of Nigerian diplomas, degrees, and certificates through a centralized and secure electronic database.
“This initiative will strengthen the integrity and credibility of Nigeria’s academic certification system while enabling institutions, employers and other stakeholders to verify qualifications through a more structured and reliable process,” Dr. Alausa stated.
Reaffirming the ministry’s policy focus, the minister reiterated the Federal Government’s dedication to deploying emerging technologies to modernize educational governance, eliminate systemic inefficiency, and provide accessible, citizen-centred services to the public.
The ministry directed members of the public, prospective students, and international corporate stakeholders to access the authentication platform exclusively through its official web address at essverify.education.gov.ng, while channeling formal administrative enquiries to the dedicated support email desk at [email protected].
