Three senior officials of the Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) have been suspended by the state government over their alleged involvement in a recruitment scam. The suspension was ordered by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, following revelations that the officials were part of a scheme that sold fake teaching job placements to unsuspecting applicants.
The affected officials include two directors and a deputy director, who are currently under investigation for issuing fraudulent appointment letters in exchange for cash. According to reports, the officials allegedly collected between ₦500,000 and ₦700,000 from applicants, depending on their academic qualifications.
The scandal came to light after a group of individuals staged a protest, claiming they had been wrongly excluded from the biometric verification exercise being conducted for newly recruited teachers in the state. The verification is part of a process to validate the employment of over 2,000 teachers recently hired by the state government.
However, investigations quickly revealed that many of the protesters were not part of the legitimate recruitment process. Instead, they had been issued fake appointment letters, which could not be verified in the government database.
In a statement released by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, the government explained that the protesting individuals were victims of fraud and had never been officially employed by the state.
“The attention of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has been drawn to reports of a protest by individuals claiming they were unjustly excluded from the SUBEB recruitment process,” the statement read.
“To be clear, those protesters were not genuine employees but victims of fraud who were issued fake letters after paying money to scammers. They were exposed during biometric verification and informed that their documents were invalid.”
The statement added that an internal investigation carried out by the government confirmed that the three suspended officials had worked closely with external collaborators to create and distribute the fake letters. These actions, the government said, were not only criminal but a serious betrayal of public trust.
“Disciplinary action has already been taken against the three SUBEB insiders found to have conspired with outsiders in defrauding applicants,” Adeniyan said.
The Governor, through the statement, reaffirmed his administration’s zero tolerance for corruption, especially in critical sectors such as education. He also assured the public that all those involved in the scam, whether within or outside the civil service, would be identified and made to face the full wrath of the law.
Public reactions have been mixed. While many have praised the government for acting swiftly, some have called for more transparency in future recruitment processes to prevent similar cases. Civil society groups have also urged the government to prosecute the officials involved to serve as a deterrent to others.
The Ondo State Government has recently taken steps to improve the quality of education by recruiting qualified teachers across public schools. However, this incident has raised concerns about how job opportunities in the public sector are being manipulated by corrupt insiders.
As the investigation continues, the state government has promised to strengthen internal checks and increase oversight in recruitment processes, especially within education and other sensitive ministries.
