The Lagos State House of Assembly has said it will invite the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Akibu, the Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, and other top staff to investigate allegations of extortion and certificate racketeering levelled against the school.

The invitation comes in response to a news report published on Monday by an online news platform, which alleged that a certificate racketeering syndicate had genuine LASU certificates that anyone interested could purchase for between N2m and N3m, depending on the technicality of the course involved.

The Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, noted that the source of the story could be suspicious and not trustworthy, but said that the concerned officials of the institution would be invited to establish facts about the allegation for the sake of the reputation of the school.

“I agree that the committee should invite those to be invited to establish facts about the allegation, but we must not because of that destroy our institution’s reputation,” he said.

Obasa also said that anyone found wanting would be sanctioned.

The motion to invite the LASU officials was moved by Owolabi Ajani, who said that there was a need to unravel the facts behind the allegation. 

Ajani noted that LASU had maintained a high level of integrity over the years, and that this must be sustained.

The motion was supported by other lawmakers, including Sa’ad Olumoh, Desmond Elliot, and Ladi Ajomale.