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Nigeria’s reps call to reverse the blanket ban on degrees from the Benin Republic and Togo. Here’s what the policy means for graduates and what should happen next.

Nigeria’s House of Representatives has taken a firm stance on one of the most pressing issues facing the country’s education sector.

On 12 March 2026, lawmakers formally called on the Federal Government to reverse its blanket invalidation of degree certificates obtained from the Republic of Benin and Togo. This decision has left thousands of graduates in professional limbo.

The motion, which followed the adoption of a report by the House Committee on Public Petitions, was triggered by a petition from Sovereignty Legal Practitioners, acting on behalf of stakeholders in the education sector.

At its core, the debate raises a question that cuts to the heart of educational policy: when fraud is the problem, is punishing everyone really the solution?

Background: Why the Ban Was Introduced

The Federal Government’s decision to suspend the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from the Benin Republic and Togo was not made lightly.

In January 2024, an undercover investigation exposed widespread certificate racketeering involving institutions in both countries. The findings were alarming — a sophisticated network of fraudulent qualifications making their way into Nigeria’s workforce and public service.

The government’s response was swift. All degree certificates from both countries were invalidated pending further review. On the surface, the policy seemed decisive. In practice, it created an enormous problem for graduates who had earned their qualifications honestly.

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The Case Against a Blanket Ban

Committee Chairman Laori Kwamoti presented the committee’s findings clearly: a blanket ban, however well-intentioned, is a blunt instrument. It makes no distinction between a legitimate graduate who spent years studying abroad and someone who purchased a certificate from a diploma mill.

The consequences for those caught in the crossfire are significant. Affected graduates may find themselves locked out of employment, unable to have their qualifications recognised by Nigerian employers or professional bodies — despite having done nothing wrong. Their academic records are effectively rendered worthless by a policy designed to catch fraudsters, not them.

This is the core problem with sweeping sanctions in education policy. A minority usually commits fraud. When the penalty falls on everyone, the policy punishes the many for the actions of the few.

What the House of Representatives Is Recommending

Rather than maintaining the blanket ban, the House Committee on Public Petitions has proposed a more measured approach. Their key recommendations include:

• A case-by-case verification process to assess individual certificates on their own merits, rather than invalidating all degrees from both countries outright
• Collaboration between Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education and education authorities in Benin and Togo to strengthen cross-border verification systems and curb academic fraud
• Proper authentication frameworks for foreign qualifications, ensuring that legitimate degrees are recognized and fraudulent ones are identified and rejected.

These recommendations reflect a more proportionate approach — one that targets the actual problem without collateral damage to innocent graduates.

Why Verification Matters More Than Prohibition

The recommendations put forward by the House point to a broader truth about how countries should manage foreign qualifications. Outright bans are rarely sustainable long-term solutions. They disrupt legitimate academic pathways, deter genuine students from pursuing regional education opportunities, and create uncertainty for employers trying to assess candidates’ credentials.

A robust, case-by-case verification system, by contrast, addresses the root cause. It creates accountability without penalising those who played by the rules. Countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada have well-established frameworks for assessing foreign qualification systems that are thorough, fair, and adaptable as circumstances change.

For Nigeria, building a similar infrastructure would require investment and inter-agency cooperation. But the long-term benefits of a more trustworthy credentialing system and greater regional educational integration within West Africa far outweigh the short-term administrative effort.

The Bigger Picture: Academic Fraud in West Africa

Certificate racketeering is not unique to the Benin Republic and Togo. Across West Africa, the demand for qualifications, particularly among those seeking public sector employment, has fuelled a black market for fraudulent academic credentials.

The consequences extend beyond individual fraud; they undermine public trust in educational institutions and erode the credibility of legitimate qualifications.

Nigeria has grappled with this issue domestically as well. Degree mills and certificate forgeries have been a persistent challenge for regulatory bodies such as the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Addressing the problem at a regional level requires sustained collaboration, not unilateral bans that strain diplomatic and educational ties with neighbouring countries.

What Happens Next?

The House of Representatives’ recommendations are now before the Federal Government. Whether the government will act and how quickly remains to be seen. The Ministry of Education will need to engage with its counterparts in the Benin Republic and Togo to establish the verification frameworks that the committee has recommended.

For the thousands of graduates currently affected by the ban, the outcome of these deliberations is anything but abstract. Their careers, professional registrations, and livelihoods depend on a resolution that is both fair and effective.

A Smarter Path Forward

The House of Representatives is right to push back on the blanket ban. Fraud demands a targeted response, one that identifies bad actors rather than penalising entire cohorts of graduates who studied in good faith.

Building better verification systems will take time and political will. But it is the only approach that protects the integrity of Nigeria’s education system without sacrificing fairness.

As the Federal Government considers its next steps, the voices of affected graduates and the lawmakers advocating on their behalf deserve to be heard.

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Galaxy S26 Update Removes Perplexity’s Hey Plex Feature

Samsung’s February 2026 update removed the Hey Plex voice wake-up from the Galaxy S26 series. Here’s what happened and what users can do now.

Samsung’s Galaxy S26 series launched with one of its most talked-about AI features, Perplexity’s “Hey Plex” voice wake-up. But a recent software update has quietly pulled it from the device, leaving early adopters confused and wondering what comes next.

If you’ve just picked up a Galaxy S26 Ultra and noticed that Hey Plex has disappeared from your Perplexity settings, you’re not imagining things.

The February 2026 security update removed the Hey Plex detection option entirely. Here’s a full breakdown of what happened, why it matters, and what Galaxy S26 users can do in the meantime.

What Was Hey Plex?

When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S26 series at Unpacked, one of its headline AI announcements was a deep integration with Perplexity—a conversational AI assistant known for delivering real-time, source-cited answers from the web.

As part of this partnership, Perplexity gained system-level access on Galaxy S26 devices. That’s a significant deal. It meant Perplexity’s AI could read from and write to system apps, saving information directly into Samsung Notes, for instance, and editing it later.

Unlike third-party apps that sit in a silo, Perplexity was embedded at the operating system level.

The Hey Plex feature was the most visible expression of this integration. Similar to how users can summon Google’s Gemini by voice, saying “Hey Plex” would launch a screen overlay of Perplexity’s voice agent, even when the screen was off. Users could ask questions, get sourced answers from the internet, and interact with their phone hands-free.

To set it up, users navigated to the Perplexity app settings, enabled “Hey Plex detection” under the Assistant section, and completed a short voice registration process by repeating a series of on-screen sentences.

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What Changed After the February 2026 Update?

The February 2026 security update, the first major software update for the Galaxy S26 series, removed the Hey Plex detection option from the Perplexity app on Galaxy S26 devices.

The feature was confirmed as working before the update. After the update rolled out, the Hey Plex detection setting was no longer visible in the Perplexity app, and the voice wake-up phrase stopped functioning altogether on the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

The same change likely affects the standard Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ as well, though the S26 Ultra is the confirmed case.

It is worth noting that Perplexity’s dedicated voice assistant remains accessible via the device’s side button. So users haven’t lost access to Perplexity itself, just the hands-free wake-word functionality that made the integration particularly seamless.

Why Was Hey Plex Removed?

Neither Samsung nor Perplexity has issued an official statement explaining the removal. It is unclear whether the feature was pulled due to a technical conflict introduced by the security patch, a stability issue, a licensing or regulatory concern, or a planned revision ahead of a more polished re-release.

Given that Hey Plex was actively working immediately after device launch and was set up and verified by users before the update, the removal appears to be update-related rather than a reversal of the feature altogether.

What Can Galaxy S26 Users Do Right Now?

If you relied on Hey Plex for hands-free AI access, your options are limited for now. Here’s where things stand:

• Side button access remains available. You can still launch Perplexity’s voice assistant by pressing the dedicated side button, though this requires physical interaction with the device.
• Gemini and Bixby are unaffected. The Galaxy S26 series supports Gemini, Bixby, and Perplexity as selectable AI assistants. If voice wake-up is a priority, Gemini’s voice activation remains functional.
• Monitor future updates. Samsung has not confirmed a timeline for Hey Plex’s return, but given that it launched as a featured capability of the Galaxy S26 series, it is reasonable to expect the feature will be restored in a future software release.

Why This Matters for Galaxy S26 Owners

The Hey Plex removal is more than a minor inconvenience. Samsung’s pitch for the Galaxy S26 was, in large part, built around its AI versatility, the ability to choose between Gemini, Bixby, and Perplexity depending on personal preference. Perplexity’s system-level access and wake-word functionality were central to that proposition.

For users who chose the Galaxy S26 specifically because of its Perplexity integration, the loss of Hey Plex, even temporarily, undermines a core part of the device’s advertised experience.

It also raises questions about the stability of deep third-party AI integrations and how quickly features can disappear following routine security patches.

That said, this is likely a temporary setback. Samsung and Perplexity’s partnership is still intact, and the underlying system-level access that makes the integration powerful hasn’t been removed. The voice wake-up feature is the piece that’s missing, and it seems plausible that a fix is already in progress.

Looking Ahead

The Galaxy S26 series has launched to strong pre-order numbers and genuine excitement around its AI capabilities. The removal of Hey Plex is a stumble rather than a sign of something more serious. Still, it’s a reminder that software updates can introduce unexpected changes, even on brand-new flagship devices.

For now, Galaxy S26 owners affected by this change should keep an eye on Samsung’s update changelog for any mention of Hey Plex’s return. When it does come back, the feature promises to be one of the more compelling hands-free AI experiences available on Android.

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Once again, Nigerian singer Davido has made headlines for proving his status as a rich man with two luxury cars entering Nigeria: a Rolls-Royce and a Tesla Cybertruck.

The musician posted a picture of the trip on social media, his pure white Rolls Royce parked on the runway, ready for shipment.

Another photo depicted the Tesla Cybertruck being loaded into an aircraft to verify the truck’s arrival in Nigeria.

Cubana Chief Priest, another close associate and entrepreneur, also saluted the new cars with an Instagram image. He congratulated Davido on his feats, dubbed him the “GOAT,” and hinted at a festive December with new vehicles added to the singer’s collection.

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