Minister of innovation, science and technology, Geoffrey Uche Nnaji, has resigned from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cabinet amid allegations of forgery levelled against him.
The president’s special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the resignation in a statement issued on Monday, noting that the President had accepted it “in good faith.”
Nnaji’s travails started after the media outfit Premium Times published the outcome of its extensive investigation into Nnaji’s alleged certificate forgery case.
Another media outfit, Peoples Gazette, had eralier in 2024, published stories accusing him of allegedly forging his National Youth Service Corps’ certificate.
Nnaji however disputed the Premium Times story, claiming the allegation was the handiwork of political opponents in his state of Enugu.
The former minister, appointed in August 2023, tendered his resignation on Monday in a letter to the President, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to serve the nation.
In his letter, the former minister said he had become the target of “relentless blackmail” by political opponents bent on tarnishing his reputation.
“I thank Mr President for the trust reposed in me and for giving me the privilege to contribute my quota to national development,” Nnaji stated, adding that he was stepping aside to protect the administration’s integrity.
President Tinubu in accepting his resignation, commended Nnaji for his service to the nation and wished him well in his future endeavours.
LEADERSHIP had reported that pressure was mounting on the minister following revelations that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), disowned the certificate allegedly submitted by Nnaji.
In a letter dated October 2, 2025, and signed by the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, the institution said records showed that Nnaji, with matriculation number 1981/30725, was admitted to study Microbiology/Biochemistry in 1981 but did not complete his studies.
“Following 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,” he said.
The university said its position was consistent with an earlier letter sent to the Public Complaints Commission on May 13, 2025, in response to a similar inquiry.
However, in his filing before the court, Nnaji admitted that he had yet to collect his degree certificate from the university, attributing the delay to what he described as UNN officials’ “non-cooperative attitude.”
The Presidency has said it would not act on the matter because the case was pending before the court.
Release my transcript, minister tells UNN
However, Chief Uche Nnaji had earlier denied the allegations of certificate forgery against him, calling on the university management to release his academic transcript.
In a press conference in Abuja on Monday, the minister said the allegation of forgery was politically motivated and well-crafted to tarnish his reputation ahead of the 2027 governorship election in the state.
Court Fixes Nov 10 For Hearing In Nnaji’s Alleged Certificate Case
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Abuja had fixed November 10 to hear a suit filed by Minister Nnaji against UNN.
The minister had filed the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1909/2025, following allegations of certificate forgery levelled against him.
The other defendants in the case are the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), UNN, and its vice-chancellor, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, as the first to fourth respondents.
He also joined the Registrar, UNN; a former acting vice-chancellor, Prof. Oguenjiofor Ujam; and the university’s Senate as 5th and 7th respondents, respectively.
Nnaji, in an ex parte motion, had sought an order granting him leave to issue prerogative writs prohibiting the university and its officials from “tampering with” or continuing to “tamper with” his academic records.
Carry Your Cross, Enugu Government Had Told Nnaji
The Enugu State Government had, in its response to Nnaji earlier, denied sponsoring allegations of certificate forgery against Minister Nnaji, urging him to “carry his cross” and clear his name before Nigerians.
In a press statement issued in Enugu on Monday by the Director of Information in the Ministry of Information and Communication, Mr Chukwuemeka Nebo, the government said it had no hand in the controversies surrounding the Minister’s academic records.
How We Got Our Story On Minister’s Alleged Forgery Scandal – Premium Times
Premium Times explained how it obtained the certificate scandal story of Chief Uche Nnaji, the immediate past minister of science, technology, and innovation.
The newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Mr Muskiliu Mojeed, said a whistleblower gave them the information they decided to work on.
According to him, they started working on the report in 2023.
He said, “The minister’s spokesman accused us of receiving N100 million for the story from the Enugu state government. He will prove that in court. We’ve done a lot of big stories, and no one has ever made such an accusation.
“Our practice is solidly built on integrity; not even Robert Ugly or Uche Nnaji can destroy it. He will prove in court how the money was given and received.
“A whistleblower raised an alarm and told us that there are discrepancies. The whistleblower told us to investigate the information. He said he is confident that we will discover something shocking if we do a diligent investigation. In fact, we first wrote to the NYSC. The investigation began in 2023.
“The editor assigned reporters to both Abuja and Enugu. The NYSC responded by saying that they have no record of him. The degree certificate and NYSC were of interest to us. When we got the NYSC certificate, we wrote to NYSC, and they said it was fake.
“We wrote to the minister to comment on the certificate and to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, but we did not receive a response. We only wanted him to authenticate the certificate he submitted to the Senate.
“The school asked us to pay N10,000. We paid, but they did not respond. We found out that someone was blocking us from making headway.
“We later wrote to the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar separately; luckily, the VC responded. We also did a forensic analysis to ensure the certificate was fake. We spent much time at UNN, and there was no evidence that he had graduated. He got admission into the school, but there was no evidence that he graduated.
“He had a problem with a core course, but did not go back to rewrite the exam.
In three different letters, the school said they did not issue the certificate”.
Nnaji is the second minister to resign from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a controversial circumstance after former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu.
