The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has authenticated the Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) result of the Minister of the Interior, Olubunmi Tunji‑Ojo.
According to The Cable, the development comes amid lingering public scrutiny of the minister’s academic records, which have been repeatedly questioned on social media and in press statements.
In December 2025, the Centre for Leadership Legacy International (Centre LLI), a civil society organisation, called on President Bola Tinubu to order a probe into “allegations surrounding the minister’s academic records”, focusing on his WAEC certificate.
WAEC’s attestation of results, a formal document used to verify or replace original certificates, confirms that Tunji‑Ojo attended the Staff Secondary School, Federal University of Technology, Akure, and sat for the WASSCE in June 1999.
The certificate, made available to TheCable by the minister’s media office, bears:
The minister’s full name and date of birth
An embossed photograph
The original certificate number (NGWASSCS 707650)
A candidate identification number and
Official signatures of the Registrar to Council and the Head of National Office.
According to the attestation, Tunji‑Ojo sat for nine subjects, recording credible grades:
A1 in Agricultural Science and Yoruba Language
B2 in Mathematics
B3 in Economics, Biology, and Physics
C6 in English Language, Chemistry, and Further Mathematics
WAEC’s security features, including embossed photographs and institutional seals, are visible on the authenticated document.
Tunji‑Ojo was appointed Minister of Interior in 2023 by President Tinubu to oversee agencies responsible for internal security, migration, correctional services, and border management.
Following his appointment, his academic records, submitted to the president and the Senate during screening and confirmation, came under public scrutiny.
In August 2023, questions were raised about his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate. Tunji‑Ojo stated that he served in the NYSC scheme from November 2019 to November 2020. However, his NYSC certificate was issued in February 2023 and signed in January 2023 by the Director‑General of NYSC, Yushau Ahmed, which raises eyebrows.
The NYSC later clarified that the certificate is genuine, explaining that Tunji‑Ojo was first mobilised in 2006 but absconded from the service.
He later resurfaced in 2018, was remobilised in 2019, and deployed to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in Garki, Abuja. The NYSC said his certificate was omitted when others were printed in 2020.
Despite WAEC and NYSC clarifications, various groups continue to raise concerns about the minister’s academic history, prompting allegations of a smear campaign by vested interests.
WAEC attestation certificates, widely recognised as valid verifications of original examination results, now confirm Tunji‑Ojo’s WASSCE performance, seemingly countering earlier doubts about this aspect of his credentials.