•Uche Nnaji
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, has admitted that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), never issued him a degree certificate.
This statement is in line with the report of a two-year investigation by PREMIUM TIMES which revealed that the UNN did not issue him the credentials he submitted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Senate during his ministerial confirmation.
Allegations of certificate forgery have dogged Mr Nnaji since July 2023 when President Tinubu named him among the first batch of 28 ministerial nominees from 25 states forwarded to the Senate as part of the president’s initial cabinet list, two months after taking office on May 29, 2023.
Critics had alleged that Mr Nnaji did not complete his university education and that both the bachelor’s degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate he presented to President Tinubu as well as to the offices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the State Security Service (SSS) and the Senate were forged.
Mr Nnaji has now addressed the allegations for the first time, and, in doing so, confirmed that UNN never issued him any certificate.
Admission in court filings
The minister’s admission is contained in court filings in a case he instituted against the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), the University of Nigeria, its Vice-Chancellor, Simon Ortuanya, a professor, its Registrar, a former Acting Vice-Chancellor, Oguenjiofor Ujam, a professor and the Senate of the University.
In the suit before Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Mr Nnaji sought, through a motion ex parte, an order granting him leave to issue prerogative writs prohibiting UNN and its officials from “tampering with” or continuing to “tamper with” his academic records.
He also sought leave to issue a prerogative writ of mandamus compelling the university and its officials to release his academic transcript to him, and asked the Minister of Education and the NUC to exercise their supervisory powers to compel UNN to do so.
Additionally, Mr Nnaji requested an interim injunction restraining UNN and its officials from “tampering” with his academic records pending the determination of the substantive suit.
In her ruling of 22 September, Justice Yilwa granted three of the prayers sought but declined to issue any injunctive order against the defendants. The case was then adjourned to October 6 (Monday) for further hearing.
Those familiar with the matter said Mr Nnaji initiated the case to block the university from releasing details of his academic sojourn in the institution to anyone, including PREMIUM TIMES.
He is also said to desire a transcript to refresh his memory regarding where he dropped out of university.
However, in paragraphs 12 and 13 of his 34-paragraph verifying affidavit supporting the motion, Mr Nnaji made a stunning revelation, accusing UNN officials of refusing to issue him a certificate and, in the process, confirming that he never collected one.
In paragraph 12, he stated that the university admitted him in 1981 to study Microbiology/Biochemistry, and that he completed the programme and “graduated” in 1985.
But paragraph 13 contained the explosive admission:
“That even though I am yet to collect my certificate from the 3rd Defendant (UNN), due largely to the non-cooperative attitude of the 3rd–5th Defendants (UNN, its Vice-Chancellor, and Registrar), the 3rd Defendant issued a letter dated 21st December 2023 to People’s Gazette (attention: Samuel Ogundipe) which stated amongst other things as follows:
‘This is to confirm that Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, with registration number 1981/30725, was admitted in 1981 to study Microbiology/Biochemistry at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Mr Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji graduated from the University of Nigeria in July 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology/Biochemistry, Second Class (Hons.) Lower Division.’”
The letter, signed by UNN Registrar Celine Nnebedum, was sent to the People’s Gazette in response to an enquiry. But its contents have since been invalidated.
Mrs Nnebedum later recanted in a letter to the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) in May 2025, stating that the university searched its 1985 graduation records but could not find Mr Nnaji’s name.
Similarly, UNN Vice Chancellor Ortuanya confirmed in a letter dated 3 October 2025 and addressed to PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Nnaji did not complete his studies and was never awarded a degree by the university.
A senior university official told PREMIUM TIMES that the institution investigated Mrs Nnebedum’s letter and concluded that: “It is either some people in the records office were influenced or manipulated to cover up for Nnaji, or it was a sincere mistake by the registry.”
The official added: “The truth of the matter is that he (Mr Nnaji) never graduated from here. His file is intact. It contains details up to the point where he dropped out.”
Minister keeps silent
Despite multiple efforts to obtain his comments, Mr Nnaji declined to speak directly to PREMIUM TIMES on the matter.
He ignored a detailed written enquiry sent by this newspaper on January 8, 2024, which his office formally acknowledged and stamped as “received” on January 18, 2024 at 1 p.m.
He also refused to answer or return repeated follow-up calls, messages, and emails seeking his response to our findings.
Nnaji’s confession
His admission that the UNN never issued him a degree certificate raises crucial questions: If the UNN did not issue him a certificate, where and how did he obtain the degree document he submitted to Nigerian authorities? And if he never earned a degree, how did he qualify for the NYSC programme?
Ahead of his ministerial screening on August 1, 2023, Mr Nnaji submitted at least 109 copies of a 10-page profile document to the Senate Clerk’s office for distribution to all senators.
The first page featured his smiling photograph, describing him as “a visionary industrialist, oil and gas expert, construction giant, healthcare practitioner, pro-democracy activist, trade and investment strategist, and environmental protection expert.”
The next three pages detailed his personal data, including contact information, birth, origin, marital status, religion, education, work and business experience and political achievements.
On page three, he claimed to have earned a combined degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology from UNN, though he failed to provide a graduation year.
For his NYSC service, he claimed he worked as a laboratory supervisor at the University of Jos Teaching Hospital in 1985 and later as an assistant quality control manager at Jos International Breweries Limited in 1986.
The remaining six pages — stapled to the main document — contained copies of his West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate, statutory declaration of age, Code of Conduct Bureau asset declaration slip, tax clearance certificate for 2022, his supposed UNN Bachelor of Science degree, and his purported NYSC Certificate of National Service.
These last two documents have been the core of the long-running investigation.
Now that Mr Nnaji has admitted that UNN never issued him any degree, the inevitable question remains: how did he come into possession of the certificate he submitted to Nigerian authorities?
