The management of Lagos State University (LASU) has addressed the viral incident involving a certificate found at a ‘suya’ spot in the state. In a statement released on Tuesday, the university clarified that the certificate had been invalidated due to a spelling error in the graduate’s surname.
The certificate, which had the surname incorrectly written as ABISOYE instead of ABIOYE, was invalidated on February 25, 2013. The university noted that it had recovered the certificate on November 21, 2018, and confirmed that a corrected version was issued and collected by the graduate on September 30, 2014.
LASU stated, “The certificate in question exists but was invalidated on February 25, 2013, because the graduate’s surname was incorrectly written as ABISOYE instead of ABIOYE.”
The university explained that its policy dictates that invalidated certificates should be shredded immediately after a new one is issued. However, due to an oversight, this certificate ended up in the public domain. The statement concluded, “The invalidated certificate got into the public space due to improper screening of office waste papers prior to disposal.”
The incident came to light on Wednesday when a man posted online about finding the certificate, which belonged to Abisoye Azeez Oluwaseun, a Second Class Honours (Upper Division) graduate in Chemical and Polymer Engineering from LASU, being used to wrap his ‘suya’. The university’s management has now clarified the situation and taken responsibility for the oversight.
