Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Uche Nnaji has broken his silence on certificate forgery claims against him.
Nnaji, who dismissed the certificate forgery claims, blamed the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, for allegedly trying to sabotage him.
The embattled official insisted that the accusations are a desperate ploy to derail his rising influence ahead of the 2027 elections.
Nnaji, a former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant who finished fourth in Enugu’s 2023 polls, addressed the controversy through his spokesperson, Dr. Robert Ngwu.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister, Ngwu also accused the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) of allegedly tampering with and manipulating the academic files of his principal.
Ngwu made this known while speaking during an interview with Channels Television.
He said: “He didn’t ask the institution not to touch his academic records. He said they should not tamper or manipulate because there was information about what we saw online, where things from a personal student’s file were released online. That means somebody is deliberately doing that.
“So we gathered from a good authority that some manipulations were going on. The minister sought the protection of the court they should release his transcript.
“You have an Acting VC who is a card-carrying member of the PDP. Under normal circumstances, he is not supposed to be a VC. On the other hand, you have a VC who, for decades, puts on a robe as a politician. And the minister was jittering because it is a legal matter, and you know how legal matters are.
“In Enugu, PDP has found a way to remain in power for the last 26 years because they don’t want competition during elections, and they go after whoever will challenge them, discredit them, and find a way to make them have no party to compete under.
“So, the issue was that the school stopped tampering with and manipulating his academic files. It is basically to release his transcript.
“In May, he applied for his transcript and paid for it, and it was not released,” he said.
He continued: “He asked the school to release his transcript. He applied for his transcript so that it becomes clear to everyone because it is the ultimate. So, that is why, even with the court order, they have not seen reasons to release his transcript.
“We have information that the minister’s file was kept under lock and key in the vice-chancellor’s office. Why would the file of a serving minister of the Federal Republic be sitting in your office?
“There is no actual discrepancy. In the Igbo language, ‘Uchenna’ or ‘Uchechukwu’ essentially carries the same meaning — often interpreted as ‘the will’ or ‘mind of God.’ They are commonly used interchangeably. The surname remains consistent.”
Ngwu added that during the last court session on Monday, Nnaji had sought the protection of the court on several requests.
“There was an injunction granted by the court that the minister sought protection by the court, warning that the school should stop tampering with his academic files because there was information that his files had been lodged in the Vice Chancellor’s office for the last six months.
“Secondly, the school should release his transcript, and those protections were granted.
“Thirdly, the supervising authority should do its work by supervising these institutions.
“Those were his prayers, and they were granted,” Ngwu said.
Enugu State Government Reacts
However, the Director of Information at the Enugu State Ministry of Information and Communication, Chukwuemeka Nebo, has denied Nnaji’s claims, stating that the government had no connection to the certificate forgery claims.
This was contained in a press release issued by Nebo.
The statement reads in part: “The Enugu State Government dissociates itself completely from these allegations. The honourable minister must carry his own cross and clear his name before Nigerians, instead of dragging the government into issues that are entirely personal to him.
“A large number of Nigerian and international journalists reportedly gathered on the minister’s invitation to hear directly from him.
“But rather than appear before them to answer questions and establish his innocence, the minister absconded, leaving behind proxies who could not withstand the barrage of legitimate questions from journalists.
“Who can narrate Chief Nnaji’s UNN story better than him? Why invite the media, only to outsource the conference? Why send third parties, who lack the answers to critical questions, if he truly has nothing to hide?
“Did he, for his screening, present a purported degree certificate to the Senate showing that he graduated from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in July 1985?
“Is it true that he deposed in a Federal High Court filing in Abuja that he was not issued any degree certificate by UNN and, if so, how did he come about the degree certificate he presented to the Senate?
“Is it also true that while he claims to have graduated in July 1985, he applied to the university to retake Virology (Course code: MCB 431) in the September 1985 Supplementary Examination, having failed the course?
“Is it also true that the university, in a November 8, 1985 letter, informed Uche Nnaji that he again failed Virology (Course code: MCB 431) in the Supplementary Examinations, but could register to retake the course in the June 1986 examinations, provided he paid an examination fee of N4.00 (Four naira)?
“Is it true that on January 3, 1986, he again applied to retake the Virology (Course code: MCB 431) examination in June 1986, stating in his letter that the receipt for the payment of the N4.00 (Four Naira) resit fee had been attached?”
“Why did Uche Nnaji’s proxy state at the Abuja press conference that the minister ‘graduated’, while avoiding stating categorically that he was issued a degree certificate?”
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the development comes after the certificate forgery claims, which have dominated headlines in Nigeria’s political sphere, centered on Nnaji’s purported Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
In a bombshell revelation last week, UNN’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, confirmed in a letter to investigative outlet Premium Times that while Nnaji was admitted in 1981, he “did not complete his studies” and was never issued the degree certificate he has long presented.
This disclosure follows a pattern of scrutiny over Nnaji’s credentials, including a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate, which purportedly bore inconsistencies.
