New FIRS Boss Deletes ‘Fake’ PhD Degree From Wikipedia

Tunde FowlerAmid the growing controversies that the newly appointed Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Babatunde Fowler, was brandishing a fake doctorate degree from a United Kingdom institution, Irish International University, the 59-year-old has since deleted the honourary degree from his Wikipedia entry.

Fowler was on Thursday appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as the new head of the FIRS, but hours after the announcement was made, it emerged that his doctorate degree might have been fake.

Sahara Reporters, an online news platform, which broke the news yesterday, claimed that the former Lagos Internal Revenue Service boss’ ‘Ph.D’ obtained from IIU in May 2007 was fake.

According to SR, Fowler “engaged in desperate efforts to erase the controversial title from the Internet especially on Wikipedia”.

His biography has been edited on the website of the LIRS while the title of “Dr.” remains on his personal webpage.

Seven years ago, a BBC investigation found IIU to be a fake institution dishing out “substandard and worthless degrees” to individuals, especially influential politicians and businessmen from Africa.

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