Pressure is mounting on the minister of science, technology and innovation, Uche Nnaji, to resign from his cabinet position over an alleged certificate forgery.
Two prominent Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International Nigeria, have called on Minister Uche Nnaji, who is involved in the certificate scandal, to resign and apologise to the nation.
The leader of the CSOs, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said in an interview with LEADERSHIP that politicians do not need to acquire degrees by hook or by crook, as they can hold any position with a school certificate, as provided for in the constitution.
Rafsanjani observed that the minister has not resigned because he is close to the president.
He, however, insisted that leaders must lead by example.
“Well, I think the issue is that if you lie in your certificate, whether it is a degree or not, whether it is an asset declaration or not, I think the only thing is that if you lie and it is exposed, you need simply to resign because you cannot be promoting lies and fraud. What leadership are you providing? What are you presiding over if you are found to be involved in a fraudulent or lying situation?
“Now, the onus is on the man, now that the matter is public, to resign and apologise to the nation quickly. Secondly, the president cannot sit down and watch people who clearly promote lies, deception, manipulation, and fraud in the name of party or solidarity.
“There are several ministers, or rather several public officials, who are facing serious integrity challenges because of their past and what they have done. Some have been accused of corruption. Some have been charged with similar certificate scandals. Others have been accused of many things.
“If you want to provide quality leadership and want citizens to accept, follow, and respect you, you cannot have people with damaged reputations and integrity problems,” he said.
“Recently, we encountered another issue. One of the president’s singers claimed to have obtained a degree from a so-called European university, and they later distanced themselves from that claim,” he added.
Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which controls the government Nnaji serves as minister, has yet to say anything on the matter. At the time of this report, the party’s national publicity secretary, Felix Morka, had yet to respond to questions directed to him on the matter.
Ademola Adaranijo, a professor of law, called on the federal government to immediately suspend the minister from office pending the outcome of a thorough and transparent investigation into the forgery allegations.
Prof Adaranijo stated that this step is crucial to maintaining public trust and demonstrating a zero-tolerance policy towards fraud by the government.
He also called on the federal government to conduct a comprehensive audit of the academic and professional credentials of all current and incoming public office holders to prevent such occurrences.
On his part, Lagos lawyer Wahab Abdullahi stressed that if the scandal is proved to be true, it is not merely an administrative oversight, but a blatant act of certificate forgery — a criminal offence under Sections 366 and 368 of the Criminal Code Act, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Abdullahi pointed out that the alleged offence contravenes the Fifth Schedule, Part I, of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandates asset and credential disclosure for public officials, and the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act of 2000, which prohibits false declarations for undue advantage.
Similarly, the director of the Public and Private Anti-Corruption Coalition (PPAC), Idowu Phillips, stated that the allegations outlined in the report are grave and criminal and should not be swept under the carpet.
Phillips said certificate forgery is a criminal offence that undermines the rule of law and public confidence in government, adding that allowing a minister accused of possessing forged credentials to remain in office erodes institutional integrity and breaches public trust.
He stated that the fight against corruption must be relentless, consistent, and unwavering to preserve democratic values and public confidence in Nigeria’s institutions.
How Court Turned Down Minister Nnaji’s Request to Stop Release of Academic Record
Facts have emerged that the minister of innovation, science and technology, Mr Uche Nnaji, approached a Federal High Court in Abuja for an interim injunction to bar the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, from releasing his academic record—an application which the court turned down.
The minister had dragged the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission, the University of Nigeria, its Vice-Chancellor, its Registrar, and the institution’s Senate before the court, seeking a restraining order to prevent them from releasing his records.
Justice Hausa Yilwa, however, dismissed the request.
The minister had prayed the court for an order granting him leave to issue the prerogative writ of prohibition against the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th Respondents (the VC, Registrar and Senate of the university) from tampering with or continuing to tamper with his academic records at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
He also sought an order granting leave to issue the prerogative writ of mandamus compelling the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th Respondents to release his academic transcript.
“An order granting leave to the Applicant to issue the prerogative writ of mandamus compelling the 1st and 2nd Respondents to ensure, utilising their supervisory and disciplinary powers, that the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th Respondents release to the Applicant his academic transcript at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
“An interim order of injunction restraining the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th Defendants from tampering or continuing to tamper with the Applicant’s academic records at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, pending the determination of the substantive suit,” he prayed.
However, after hearing the submissions of counsel, the court held, “I have therefore perused the 34-paragraph Affidavit and the 6-paragraph Affidavit of urgency deposed to by the Applicant, the grounds upon which this application is made, the Exhibits attached thereto, and the Further Affidavit of 6 paragraphs deposed to by Martin Luther Akawe.
“I’m of the humble view, from the facts deposed in the affidavits alongside the exhibits attached, that the applicant has sufficient interest in the matter to which this application relates. So, this application is beneficial. Consequently, I hereby grant prayers 1, 2 and 3 only.
“Prayer 4 is declined. Having been refused, granting reliefs 1-3 shall not serve as injunctive reliefs against any of the parties.”
The university had disowned Nnaji’s certificate in a letter dated 2 October 2025, sent by the Vice-Chancellor of UNN, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, to Premium Times.
The university maintained that he did not complete his studies.
“We refer to your letter dated 29 September 2025 regarding the above subject matter.
“We can confirm that Mr Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, with Matriculation Number 1981/30725, was admitted by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1981.
“From every available record and information from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, we are unable to confirm that Mr Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, the current Minister of Science and Technology, graduated from the University of Nigeria in July 1985, as there are no records of his completion of study in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
“Flowing from the above, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka DID NOT and consequently, COULD NOT have issued the purported certificate in July 1985 to Mr Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, the current Minister of Science and Technology. This conclusion also concurs with an earlier letter dated 13 May 2025, ref. No. RUN/SR/R/V, issued by the University to the Public Complaints Commission regarding the same subject matter (copy attached),” Ortuanya wrote.
Instructively, in his filing in the suit before the Court, and contrary to Nnaji’s claim in a 10-page document, including a UNN degree certificate, submitted to the Senate in August 2023 for ministerial screening, he has made a volte-face, admitting to not having been issued his degree certificate.
He submitted, “That even though I am yet to collect my certificate from the 3rd Defendant (UNN), due mainly to the non-cooperative attitude of the 3rd–5th Defendants (UNN, its Vice-Chancellor, and Registrar), the 3rd Defendant issued a letter dated 21 December 2023 to People’s Gazette (attention: Samuel Ogundipe) which stated amongst other things as follows:
‘This confirms 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.’”
Nnaji accuses Governor Mbah of smear campaign
However, the Minister has responded to the allegation, describing it as “politically motivated.”
The minister, who spoke through his special adviser, Dr Robert Ngwu, accused the governor of Enugu state, Peter Mba, of being the brain behind the efforts to tarnish Mr Nnaji’s image because the Minister poses a threat to him in the 2027 election in the state.
He also accused the governor of conniving with the Více Chancellor of the University, whom he installed, to tamper with the minister’s certificate.
He added that Mr Uche had filed a case at the Federal High Court in Abuja, demanding his academic transcripts from the institution.
He wants the court to determine the matter swiftly.
The Ministry’s spokesperson, Mrs Pauline Sule, also responded, describing the allegation as “fake news.”
“We are working on it. We will soon reach out to the press,” Sule said.
It was learnt that the case before the Federal High Court in Abuja will be heard again today, October 6, 2025.
