Certificate Scandal: Why I resigned as minister
Despite overwhelming evidence of certificate forgery against him, Uche Nnaji has claimed his resignation as Nigeria’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology was not an admission of guilt.
Mr Nnaji resigned as minister on Tuesday, three days after an investigation by PREMIUM TIMES exposed how he forged his degree and NYSC certificates.
The politician had presented the discredited certificates as part of his credentials to support his ministerial appointment in 2023.
‘Personal choice’
In a statement on Tuesday night, the former minister said the decision “did not come lightly.”
“My decision to step aside is therefore a personal choice – not an admission of guilt, but rather a principled decision to respect the sanctity of due process and to preserve the integrity of the judicial proceedings currently before the court,” he said.
Politically motivated?
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), which he attended, and the NYSC authorities had separately disowned the certificates in response to PREMIUM TIMES’ Freedom of Information requests separately submitted to the institutions at different times.
This newspaper had also exposed several discrepancies in the former minister’s certificates.
But Mr Nnaji claimed in the statement that the PREMIUM TIMES’ investigation, which many media outlets in Nigeria republished, was “politically motivated.”
“Over the past week, an orchestrated sustained campaign of falsehood, politically motivated, and malicious attacks have been waged against my person, integrity, and office across print, electronic, and social media platforms.
“These unfounded allegations and media distortions have not only caused personal distress but have also begun to distract from the vital work of the ministry and the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, the former minister was referring to a lawsuit against UNN, its Vice-chancellor, Simon Ortuanya, the Ministry of Education and others, which he instituted to block the release of his academic records to media outfits, including PREMIUM TIMES.
Background
Allegations of certificate forgery had dogged Mr Nnaji since July 2023, when President Bola 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 29 May 2023.
Critics had long insisted that Mr Nnaji did not complete his university education and that both the bachelor’s degree and NYSC certificate he presented to President Tinubu, as well as to the offices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the State Security Service, and the Senate, were forged.
The findings of PREMIUM TIMES’ extensive examination of the documents were damning and conclusive: both the degree certificate and the NYSC discharge certificate in the minister’s possession are outright forgeries.
This newspaper reported on Sunday that the then-minister had admitted that UNN never issued him a degree certificate.
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Many Nigerians have expressed outrage over the then-minister’s certificate forgery.
On Monday, Mr Nnaji was absent from a press conference his office called to address the matter. His aides, however, appeared on his behalf during which they made unsubstantiated claims, including the claim that the then-minister indeed graduated from UNN.
PREMIUM TIMES later published documents showing that at the time Mr Nnaji claimed to have graduated from UNN and purportedly proceeded to participate in the mandatory NYSC, he was still exchanging correspondence with the institution on how he could re-sit a failed terminal course examination.
Following the findings of the investigation, the politician resigned his appointment on Tuesday evening.