No fewer than 49 Higher National Diploma final-year students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic are on the verge of expulsion following a result verification process that exposed the alleged use of fake National Diploma results.

PUNCH Metro learnt on Thursday from a result verification update released by the polytechnic that the students had allegedly presented fake ND results while seeking admission into the HND programmes of the institution.

In a two-batch result verification list released by the polytechnic, the affected students cut across Mass Communication, Pharmaceutical Technology, Marketing, Science Laboratory Technology, Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Accountancy among others.

Some of the fake results were reportedly obtained from The Polytechnic, Ibadan, The Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic, Eruwa and Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa, Oyo State.

The institution had on Monday announced the indefinite closure of the polytechnic over a planned protest by the students.

Speaking with our correspondent on Thursday, the institution’s Public Relations Officer, ‘yemi Ajibola, noted that the verification was part of the institution’s process of authenticating documents submitted by admitted students.

Ajibola noted that the delay in the release of results was occasioned by the verification process, and after due diligence, the affected students were found to have submitted fake ND results.

He said, “We have our internal mechanisms for verifying results submitted by every student of the polytechnic. Some of the results had yet to be verified because the schools they came from had yet to confirm their results, while some of the results were found to be fake.

“We had a backlog of results to verify because of some administrative issue which necessitated the delay, and we are working on getting them resolved as soon as possible.”

He added that the students with fake results would not be immediately expelled but would be allowed to come and defend the results before final action was taken.

“They will not be expelled immediately. The institution will write each of the affected students to come and defend the result they presented, and in a circumstance where we detect an error in the verification process, we will rectify it.

“However, anyone who could not substantiate his/her results will be expelled,” Ajibola said.

The PUNCH reported on Thursday that the Ogun State Government and the students of MAPOLY disagreed over an alleged attack by the students on the state’s Deputy Governor, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele.

While the government claimed that the deputy governor narrowly escaped an attack by the protesting students, the students, on the other hand, alleged that the deputy governor’s security detail fired shots at them during a confrontation.