Investigate, prosecute Uche Nnaji for certificate forgery

After months of denial and what appeared to be a delay tactic, former Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Uche Nnaji, finally resigned due to discrepancies in his academic and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates. But no answer has been provided for the trail of posers surrounding the forgery allegations. Nnaji insists he did no wrong, but was only a victim of an orchestrated campaign of falsehood, politically motivated to smear him.

We demand a full investigation of the allegations. For once, we must address the issue of certificate forgery in government circles. We demand that offenders should not be allowed to just resign. They should be held accountable for the full penalties for the crime of forgery. Let the full weight of the law be brought to bear against those who forge documents to access public office. Their crimes tarnish the country’s reputation in the international community.

Media investigations, since July 2023, have presented conflicting reports of Nnaji’s purported ownership of a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka. He claimed he graduated in 1985. But the university, in what appeared to be a delayed response to a media inquiry, announced on October 6, 2025, that the certificate presented by Nnaji was not issued by the institution. Mrs F.C. Achiuwa, Senior Deputy Registrar (Records), who made the declaration to the Premium Times, said that though Nnaji was offered admission in 1981, he did not graduate in 1985. However, on December 21, 2023, the UNN Registrar, Celine Nnebedum, had reportedly, in response to an inquiry by The People’s Gazette, declared that Nnaji graduated from the university. This was later recounted in a letter from the Registrar’s Office to the Public Complaints Commission, as well as the Premium Times in May 2025.

We now know that Nnaji did not graduate in 1985, as he reportedly failed a virology course and was unsuccessful in attempts to re-sit the course. There was communication between Nnaji and the university regarding the need to retake the course, for which he paid the required fee; however, he failed to report for the rescheduled examination.

Why did he still present a certificate he did not earn, and also grade himself with a second class (lower division)? Nnaji also presented an NYSC certificate, which commenced in April 1985, months before the end of that academic session! Equally confounding is the suit filed by the former minister to restrain the university from releasing details of his academic records. In the suit, he accused the UNN of failing to issue him a certificate after he completed the programme and graduated in 1985. He blamed the university’s non-cooperative attitude, as well as that of the vice-chancellor and registrar.

This complicated case must be unravelled. The UNN clearly has questions to answer. It has a duty to clear its name and expose those who may have compromised their positions, particularly in the case of Uche Nnaji, and possibly others.

Without a doubt, the process of selecting and appointing ministers often lacks integrity and due process. There is a lack of thoroughness in the vetting process by the security departments and the Senate. For the political class, it is a job for the boys, and anything goes.

We declare that it is not difficult to cross-check with universities where ministerial nominees claim to have earned certificates. However, the haste to appoint ministers overshadows the integrity necessary to avert national embarrassments. The case of Mrs Kemi Adeosun is not easily forgotten. She was appointed Minister of Finance under President Buhari. It turned out that the NYSC certificate she presented was forged. She left without further interrogation and prosecution. That makes Nigeria a laughing stock in the comity of nations. To add this certificate forgery epaulette to our notoriety for financial crimes would further smear us. We must reject it. We are a travelling people, and we must guard against habits that constitute liabilities against us. We are rapidly degrading ourselves, largely due to the fact that there are no consequences for bad behaviour.

No matter how embellished it may be, whether the former minister resigned or was forced to, it is a national embarrassment that he remained as minister for two years despite strong suspicions in the media over the certificates he presented. It’s as if someone hoped the matter could be swept under the carpet like others. We urge this government to take the matter of public integrity seriously and revise its recruitment tactics. The government must re-examine the credentials of serving public officials before they are exposed. No effort is too small or too late to save the country from repeated embarrassment.

We commend the Premium Times that blew the whistle on this particular matter. The newspaper remained unrelenting until the minister bowed to pressure. That is a good example of the media exercising its mandate to hold public officials and the government accountable. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) at Section 22 empowers the media to, at all times, uphold the fundamental objectives of the Constitution, as well as hold the government accountable to the people. Together with the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA), the media and citizens are empowered to ask questions and demand accountability. Let’s ask questions and continue to do so until we are answered!