Uche Nnaji, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, has publicly admitted that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), never issued him a degree certificate. This significant admission validates a comprehensive two-year investigation by PREMIUM TIMES, which meticulously uncovered that the credentials Mr. Nnaji submitted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Senate for his ministerial confirmation were forged.

Allegations of certificate forgery have shadowed Mr. Nnaji since July 2023, when he was named among President Tinubu’s initial list of ministerial nominees. Critics had consistently argued that Mr. Nnaji did not complete his university education, asserting that both the bachelor’s degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate he presented to various high-level authorities—including President Tinubu, the offices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the State Security Service (SSS), and the Senate—were falsified. PREMIUM TIMES’ extensive examination of these documents had earlier led to the damning conclusion that both the degree and NYSC discharge certificates in the minister’s possession were outright forgeries.

Mr. Nnaji’s first public acknowledgment of these allegations came through court filings in a case he initiated against several entities, including the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), the University of Nigeria, its Vice-Chancellor Simon Ortuanya, its Registrar Celine Nnebedum, a former Acting Vice-Chancellor Oguenjiofor Ujam, and the Senate of the University. In this suit before Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Mr. Nnaji sought prerogative writs to prevent UNN and its officials from “tampering with” his academic records, to compel the university to release his academic transcript, and to compel the Minister of Education and the NUC to exercise their supervisory powers. He also sought an interim injunction to restrain UNN from tampering with his records. On September 22, Justice Yilwa granted three of his prayers but declined to issue any injunctive order, adjourning the case to October 6 for further hearing. Sources suggested Mr. Nnaji launched the suit to prevent the university from disclosing details of his academic history and to obtain a transcript to clarify where he supposedly discontinued his studies.

A critical revelation emerged from Mr. Nnaji’s 34-paragraph verifying affidavit. In paragraph 12, he claimed to have been admitted to UNN in 1981 to study Microbiology/Biochemistry, completing the program and “graduating” in 1985. However, 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.’”

However, the contents of the December 21, 2023 letter, signed by UNN Registrar Celine Nnebedum, have since been invalidated. Mrs. Nnebedum herself later recanted this information in a letter dated May 13, 2025, sent to the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), explicitly stating that the university searched its 1985 graduation records but could not find Mr. Nnaji’s name. This recantation was further corroborated by UNN Vice-Chancellor Simon Ortuanya, who, in a letter dated October 2, 2025, addressed to PREMIUM TIMES, confirmed that Mr. Nnaji did not complete his studies and was never awarded a degree by the university. A senior university official, speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, elaborated that an internal investigation into Mrs. Nnebedum’s initial letter concluded it was either influenced, manipulated, or a sincere mistake by the registry, unequivocally stating: “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.”

The Minister’s admission that UNN never issued him a degree certificate raises crucial and unavoidable questions: If UNN did not issue him a certificate, then where and how did he acquire the degree document he submitted to Nigerian authorities? Furthermore, if he never earned a degree, how did he qualify for the NYSC program, whose certificate he also presented? Ahead of his ministerial screening on August 1, 2023, Mr. Nnaji submitted a 10-page profile document, distributed to all senators, which described him as an “industrialist, oil and gas expert,” among other titles. On page three of this document, he claimed to possess a combined degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology from UNN, although he omitted a graduation year. For his NYSC service, he claimed to have worked as a laboratory supervisor at the University of Jos Teaching Hospital in 1985 and as an assistant quality control manager at Jos International Breweries Limited in 1986. The crucial accompanying documents included 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 final two documents formed the core of PREMIUM TIMES’ extensive investigation, which, after nearly two years of verification, concluded they were forgeries.

Despite repeated and numerous efforts by PREMIUM TIMES to secure his comments—including a detailed written enquiry on January 8, 2024, which his office formally acknowledged, and subsequent follow-up calls, messages, and emails—Mr. Nnaji consistently declined to address the matter directly. The latest information provided by Mr. Ortuanya and Mrs. Nnebedum to PREMIUM TIMES and the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) aligns with the findings of the newspaper’s two-year investigation, confirming the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, could not confirm his graduation or issue the purported certificate.