Chukwu Obinna 
ABUJA, Nigeria – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered that all Nigerian graduates must submit their final-year theses or projects into the National Education Repository and Databank (NERD) before they can be mobilised or exempted from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The policy, announced in a circular signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Monday, Senator George Akume, will take effect on 6 October 2025.
From that date, no graduate trained either in Nigeria or abroad will be cleared for NYSC without evidence of compliance.
According to government officials, the reform is anchored in Sections 2(4)(4) and 16(1)(C) of the NYSC Act. It seeks to safeguard intellectual property, curb certificate fraud, and strengthen academic quality assurance.
NERD spokesperson Haula Galadima said the initiative would improve academic standards by holding both students and supervisors accountable.
“No lecturer would want his or her name tied to substandard work on a globally accessible platform,” she told reporters.
Each submission will include the student’s name, project supervisor, Head of Department, and institution details. The repository covers universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, nursing schools, and agricultural colleges.
Tinubu has also approved a framework to monetise academic outputs, enabling students and lecturers to earn lifetime royalties on works uploaded into the database.
The new rule does not apply to graduates already mobilised or currently serving in the NYSC scheme.
Tinubu Mandates Thesis Submission for NYSC Mobilisation from October
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Hussaini Ibrahim 
