…Inibehe Effiong Urges Police To Probe Nnaji
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, has dismissed allegations that he forged his university and NYSC certificates.
Nnaji, an Enugu state-born politician, described the reports as “deliberate misinformation driven by politics.”
At a press conference on Monday in Abuja, his spokesman, Robert Ngwu, said Nnaji is a proud alumnus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology/Biochemistry in 1985.
Ngwu said the university had, in an official letter dated December 21, 2023, confirmed that “Mr. Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, with registration number 1981/30725, was admitted in 1981 to study Microbiology/Biochemistry and graduated in July 1985 with a Bachelor of Science, Second Class (Honours) Lower Division.”
He said the letter, duly signed by I.A.S. Onyeador for the registrar, was the only authentic communication issued by the institution on the matter and that it remains valid and verifiable.
The spokesperson accused some university officials of conspiring with “political actors” to discredit the minister, following the emergence of two People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members as acting vice-chancellor and vice-chancellor in 2025.
He added that the minister had approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to protect his records after learning of attempts to tamper with his academic file.
According to him, Justice H.J. Yilwa granted injunctions restraining UNN from “tampering with or continuing to tamper with” Nnaji’s academic records and compelling the release of his transcripts.
“This episode is not about education or integrity. It is about political desperation disguised as academic inquiry.
Nigerians are wiser than that — the facts are before the court, and the truth cannot be buried under propaganda,” he said.
He said Nnaji remained committed to his duties and would not be distracted by what he called a “coordinated smear campaign.”
“The minister is focused on advancing innovation, building science and technology capacity, and restoring confidence in research-driven growth,” Ngwu said.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has called on the police to investigate the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Uche Nnaji, over allegations of certificate forgery.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Effiong said the inconsistencies in the minister’s academic records and the conflicting statements from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and the minister himself required urgent attention.
He expressed shock that such alleged irregularities escaped scrutiny during Nnaji’s screening before appointment.
“How did all these things escape the scrutiny of the Nigerian State Security Service?” Effiong asked on the show.
“As I speak to you, the State Security Service has maintained a conspiratorial silence. It is a conspiracy,” he added.
The lawyer described the allegations as “grave” and urged President Bola Tinubu to suspend Nnaji pending investigation.
“This minister must be immediately suspended pending the conclusion of the investigation.
“He has to surrender himself to the police for investigation for forgery; otherwise, they will be telling Nigerians that we are running a government of certificate forgers and criminality,” he insisted.
Effiong added that while the allegations remain unproven, the government must show readiness to investigate them thoroughly.
“We cannot have a minister of innovation whose innovation is now being linked to alleged certificate forgery.
“This is an embarrassment to our country, and President Tinubu has an opportunity to prove that he is not running a cartel but a government that respects the law,” the lawyer said.
Nnaji had been accused of allegedly presenting forged academic and NYSC certificates.
Reacting to the controversy, one of his aides, Robert Ngwu, dismissed the forgery claims as false and politically motivated.
“Let it be on record that the Minister, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, graduated from UNN in 1985. The university officially confirmed this in writing in December 2023.
“It’s reflected in his 1985 convocation brochure, which remains part of UNN’s permanent archives. Any other claim or document to the contrary is false, malicious, and politically motivated,” the aide said.