News
SCANDAL: UNN declares Tinubu minister, Uche Nnaji’s degree certificate fake
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has disowned the Bachelor of Science degree certificate in the possession of the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Uche Nnaji, saying the politician did not complete his studies at the institution and was never issued a certificate.
Allegations of certificate forgery have surrounded 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 Mr Tinubu began to form his cabinet, two months after taking office on May 29, 2023.
Mr Nnaji’s critics insist that he did not complete his university education and that both the bachelor’s degree and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate he presented to President Tinubu, as well as the offices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the State Security Service, and the Nigerian Senate, are counterfeit.
However, in response to a PREMIUM TIMES Freedom of Information request, Simon U. Ortuanya, the vice-chancellor of the University of Nsukka, stated that although Mr Nnaji was admitted to the institution in 1981, he did not complete his studies and was never awarded a degree.
“We refer to your letter dated 29 September 2025 in respect of the above subject matter,” Mr Ortuanya, a professor, wrote in his 2 October 2025 letter to this newspaper. “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 records 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 above, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka DID NOT and consequently, COULD NOT have issued the purported certificate, or at all, in July 1985 to Mr Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, the current Minister of Science and Technology. This conclusion is also in consonance with an earlier letter dated May 13, 2025, ref. No, RUN/SR/R/V, issued by the University to the Public Complaints Commission in respect of the same subject matter (copy attached).”
Mr Ortuanya’s response to the enquiry is the high point of this newspaper’s two-year painstaking investigation into Mr Nnaji’s degree and NYSC Certificates.
We first made an FoI request to the university on 1 February 2024. But officials failed to respond to our enquiry despite several reminders and follow-up visits to the institution by our reporter. During one such visit, a registry staff member compelled our reporter to pay a N15,000 processing fee. We did, but still received no response to our letter.
On 2 October this year, we decided to courier a reminder to the university, making the same request and attaching a copy of the Bachelor of Science degree the minister submitted to the Senate during his confirmation hearing on 1 August 2023.
It was the recent letter to the institution that triggered the response from Mr Ortuanya, who was appointed vice chancellor of the university only on 2 August 2025.
The university’s reply to our enquiry contradicts an earlier response to the People’s Gazette newspaper on the matter. On 21 December 2023, Celine Nnebedum, the university registrar, responded to the newspaper’s enquiry, saying Mr Nnaji graduated from the institution in July 1985.
The official has since recanted, telling the Public Complaints Commission in May this year that the university searched its graduation records for the 1985 session but could not find Mr Nnaji’s name on them.
However, the latest information provided by Mr Ortuanya and Mrs Nnebedum to us and the Public Complaints Commission, respectively, aligns with the findings of our two-year investigation on the matter.
Unmasking a ministerial fraud
We began investigating Mr Nnaji’s credentials on 23 October 2023, after a whistleblower alerted us to suspected discrepancies in the minister’s certificates and urged us to conduct an investigation.
The outcome of our two-year investigation is damning. Not only is Mr Nnaji a barefaced liar (telling lawmakers during his ministerial screening that he graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1985 and that he did his National Youth Service Corp scheme in Jos in 1986), but he is also a serial forger, who manufactured two key credentials with which he has gained career, business and political advantages for decades.
Our first step in investigating Minister Nnaji was a careful and repeated review of recordings of his 1 August 2023 confirmation hearing at the Senate, which was beamed live by at least five Nigerian television networks and later archived on the YouTube channels of the stations.
We also reviewed a recording of the 22 August 2023 inauguration ceremony of President Tinubu’s ministers. On that occasion, Mr Nnaji beamed with smiles and his face sparkled with pride as the moderator, Ajuri Ngelale, who was then the special adviser on media and publicity to President Tinubu, read his dishonest resume, including the lie that he bagged a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and microbiology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Afterwards, we began knocking on senators’ doors in search of the 10-page document the politician submitted to Senate authorities and lawmakers. The first few senators we contacted declined to cooperate, even though we did not disclose the reason for our request to them.
Two who initially promised to share the document failed to keep multiple appointments. Ultimately, two unlikely lawmakers stood out. Without asking many questions, they separately instructed their aides to oblige us with copies of the documents.
We then subjected the suspicious NYSC and degree certificates to a thorough forensic analysis in our newsroom. This process ultimately reinforced our hypothesis that the documents were most likely fake.
First, we found that the purported NYSC certificate, dated 15 May 1986, bore the signature of Animashaun Braimoh. The army colonel served as the fifth CEO of the NYSC between January 1988 and December 1990.
It is impossible that he signed Mr Nnaji’s certificate of national service on 15 May 1986, eighteen months before his appointment to that office. The head of the NYSC at the time the politician claimed he served was then-Colonel Edet Akpan, who held the position between January 1984 and December 1987.
Another glaring discrepancy in Mr Nnaji’s NYSC certificate was the titular designation of the corps’ CEO, who purportedly signed the document. From the inception of the NYSC and at least until the early 1990s, the head of the agency was known as “Director”.
For some years in the 1990s, the CEO of the corps became known as “National Director” and later as “Director General”, a designation still in use to date. However, Mr Nnaji has a certificate signed by a “National Director” in 1986, several years before that designation was introduced at the NYSC.
We reviewed at least 25 certificates issued by the NYSC between July 1980 and October 1990. All were signed by “Director”. Only Mr Nnaji’s was endorsed by “National Director”.
Our extensive review of NYSC certificates, from inception to at least October 1990, revealed that the six-digit numberings are devoid of alphabetic characters.
For instance, the certificate issued to Lateef Fagbemi, the current Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, in 1986, is numbered 323213, while that of Abubakar Badaru (the incumbent Minister of Defence), also issued in 1986, has 299355 as its identification number.
Mr Nnaji claimed that the NYSC issued him a certificate number A231309 in 1986, whereas the practice of adding alphabets to certificate numbers for national service did not begin until the 1990s.
Additionally, Mr Nnaji’s certificate indicates that he served in Plateau State between 16 April 1985 and 15 May 1986. We found that claim to be false because corps members statutorily serve for 12 months, not 13 as indicated by the minister’s forged certificate.
For instance, Wale Edun, the current Minister of Finance, underwent national service between 20 December 1979 and 19 December 1980 (a period of 12 months), while Babatunde Fashola, former Lagos Governor, did his between 18 September 1988 and 17 September 1989 (also a period of 12 months). Of all the about 50 NYSC certificates we reviewed, only Mr Nnaji’s portrayed a 13-month service period.
On the surface, Mr Nnaji’s degree certificate appeared genuine. We compared it with the version issued by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to a former Labour Minister, Chris Ngige, who graduated from the institution in June 1979. Apart from his first name being misspelt as “Geoffery” instead of “Geofffrey”, the certificate ticked all the right boxes on genuineness.
But when we placed it side by side with Mr Nnaji’s certificate of national service, the artificiality of the document became apparent. The degree certificate suggested the politician graduated in July 1985.
However, the accompanying NYSC certificate claimed that the politician began his youth service on 16 April 1985, three clear months before he finished university. Were that to be true, it would have been a record because no one else in the 52-year history of the NYSC has been mobilised for national service while still studying for their first degree. (PREMIUM TIMES)
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre has shared an AI-generated image of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, frying and selling akara, days after her comments on micro-enterprises sparked widespread criticism on social media.
The image, posted on the Presidency’s official social media accounts on Friday, depicts the First Lady at a roadside akara stand wearing an apron bearing the inscription, “Iya Alakara, fueling the nation with love.”
The post followed remarks by the First Lady during an interview in which she said small-scale businesses such as frying akara, roasting corn and making kuli kuli require little start-up capital.
She explained that the Federal Government was supporting such ventures with grants rather than loans as part of efforts to improve livelihoods.
Tinubu, Osinbajo, Eight Others Aspiring To Become…
“We’re trying to give hope, and to start akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn, or somebody even said kuli kuli doesn’t take much. We didn’t give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant,” she had said.
Her comments triggered mixed reactions, with many Nigerians accusing her of being insensitive to the country’s economic realities, while others defended her, saying she was highlighting accessible business opportunities.
The Presidency’s AI-generated image has further fuelled debate online, with supporters describing it as a light-hearted response to critics and others condemning it as trivialising the economic hardship faced by many Nigerians.
Reacting on X, a user identified as @Top_GunM wrote, “Warra country. It’s so unfortunate. This is meant to be the wife of the president of the most populous black nation in the world and this is what she’s being reduced to.”
Another user, who tweets as #mizmuchstella, criticised the Presidency’s media team, saying, “Whoever is the handler of this account should be sacked. Your job is to position this government as good, but it is obvious you have no basic knowledge of your job.”
Tinubu media centre posts AI image of Remi Tinubu selling akara
Tinubu media centre posts AI image of Remi Tinubu selling akara
Also reacting,zaddy wilver who identifies #WilverZaddy said, “I hope Nigerians are seeing the man they voted for using them to catch cruise? Is this what a president is supposed to say? A president directly mocking the masses while the economy bites harder with high level of insecurity in the country. Such a big pity and mess.”
CHEQNBALNCE who identifies as #ChimaAmako82045 described the post as an insult to Nigerians, “Keep enjoying this mediocrity n insult you are giving Nigerians, e just remain months to vote the idiotic family out of aso rock, and na that time when una wan rig am na him una go know Nigerians pain. Enjoy it while it last but remember it won’t last forever.”
Straight who writes as #outtahighbee argued that the Presidency was hurting its own image., “lol You guys are not helping this president of ours at all. You think you are but you keep dragging the old man down and further down with this cruise. Everybody can’t sell akara and kuli kuli now Abi iru wahala wo leleyi gan sef? Oro yin su mi o.”
Gentry☮️ who tweets as #gentrytee22 said the image reflected how poorly the government rated citizens, describing it as “a nationwide meme.”, “This is to show how small the government of the day rates its citizens. You advocate for mediocrity and call it innovation , people who wants better for themselves complain now it has to turn to a nationwide meme being used by the government media team lol. It’s a shame”
Highlighting rising living costs, Bruno Fernandes broda who identifies as #AminJaman added, “Even akara has becomes more expensive because beans, oil, and transport costs keep rising. The smile is beautiful, but behind it is the reality of soaring food prices, expensive cooking gas, and declining purchasing power.”
Tim Oma who writes as #SirTimeyin defended the post, arguing that Nigerians had initially turned the First Lady’s remarks into memes.”I find it interesting that so many people are suddenly outraged. When the First Lady’s “Akara” comment became content, Nigerians turned it into skits, memes, and endless cruise. We laughed, and moved on. Now the President has added his own quota to thesame joke, and everyone is wailing. Why the surprise? Once a national issue becomes entertainment, don’t be shocked when those in power start treating it like one too. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Sta M who tweets as #sto0511M welcomed the image, urging the Presidency to continue releasing similar content. “Thank you for this image we want more of these kind images to dish out to them so that theh can continue roaming in 1 roundabout,abeg pepper 🌶 dem more for us our body sey sweet us with that PBAT statement”
Tinubu had on Thursday playfully referred to the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, as “Iya Alakara” (Mama Akara Seller), in an apparent light-hearted reference to the recent controversy surrounding her remarks on small-scale businesses.
The President made the remark while observing protocol during his address at the Presidential Press Corps Dinner held at the State House, Abuja.
A video of the event, shared by Aso Rock TV on YouTube, showed Tinubu smiling as he acknowledged dignitaries in attendance before turning to the First Lady.
The Presidency has told the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to unmask the internal criminal elements working with Prince Matthew Adeniyi to operate a fictitious presidential agency for prosecution.
The Presidency alleged that there are internal collaborators enabling Prince Adeniyi in the smear campaign against the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, who made the declaration in a post on his X handle, accused Adeniyi of being an “irredeemable con artist” who is expertly exploiting Nigerian public psychology regarding corruption to shield himself from criminal accountability by dragging the name of the Chief of Staff into his multi-billion-naira fraudulent enterprise.
He said investigators from the Department of State Services, the Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had been tasked with unraveling the full extent of the collaboration that allowed Adeniyi to forge presidential appointment letters, maintain 34 bank accounts in the names of fictitious government bodies, host foreign ambassadors and open a Central Bank account, all while parading himself as the director-general of a non-existent body called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
Ajayi said: “What is not in doubt is that internal collaborators enabled Adeniyi to get this far. That is precisely what investigators from the DSS, the Police and the EFCC must now unravel.
“The criminal network within the affected institutions must be dismantled and everyone found to have played a role should be arrested and prosecuted.”
He further wrote: “In Nigeria, the easiest and most believable allegation anyone can throw at a public officer is corruption. Once that accusation is thrown into the mix, the water is polluted, the lines are blurred and everyone is kept busy arguing over distractions rather than the real issues.
“Matthew Adeniyi understands Nigerian public psychology and he is exploiting it expertly to shield himself. He is an irredeemable con artist who is attempting to drag the name of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, into his criminal enterprise. The Chief of Staff is simply his last straw.
“Many commentators have rightly pointed to the systemic failure that allowed such an elaborate fraudulent scheme to flourish. Daredevil criminals who operate around government institutions with the sole aim of pulling off spectacular heists are common across the world.
“Some succeed, many fail. The part many commentators have overlooked, however, is how that same system eventually detected the fraud and fished him out.
“Contrary to the anything-goes narrative being promoted, it was the system itself that raised the red flag and dealt with it administratively.”
The presidential media aide further said: “First, officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), the statutory agency responsible for investment promotion, together with officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, identified the anomaly and lodged complaints with the appropriate authorities for clarification. That is a system functioning as it should. It is a system capable of detecting an aberration.”
Recall that on June 11, 2026, Gbajabiamila issued a public disclaimer alerting the public, foreign missions, financial institutions and multilateral organisations that the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council had no official standing and that no appointment had been made under its name.
On July 1, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed that Adeniyi had been charged with eight criminal counts at the Federal High Court since November 27, 2025; that he maintained 34 bank accounts in the names of fictitious government agencies; that he had fraudulently opened a CBN account by deceiving the Accountant-General’s office; and that the key witness who allegedly procured his forged appointment letter died in a hotel fire five days before Adeniyi’s own arrest on October 27, 2025.
But human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, challenged the Presidency, saying it lacked the constitutional authority to exonerate any party in the matter and calling for the ICPC to independently investigate both Gbajabiamila and Adeniyi.
Falana also demanded an explanation for how N24bn was allegedly budgeted for the non-existent agency and how it succeeded in opening a CBN account.
Adeniyi is due before the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 27, 2026, alongside two accomplices who are still at large.
In a statement dated July 3, 2026, and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, the party said it was “alarmed by the damning allegations of corruption involving the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, and one Prince Mathew Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).”
The NDC alleged that “the non-existent agency was allegedly used to siphon public funds, with the active collusion and facilitation by the Chief of Staff, Gbajabiamila,” adding that the development “raises fundamental questions about the level of transparency, accountability, and the integrity of the Tinubu administration.”
According to the statement, allegations made by Adeyemi include claims that the PFIPC received allocations in the 2026 budget and opened multiple accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
-
Uncategorized1 day agoThree brothers charged with murder after beating mother’s boyfriend to death
-
Uncategorized1 day ago
Gunmen ambush, kill ex-Benue SSG Salifu
-
Uncategorized2 days ago
US withdraws troops deployed to Nigeria, retains intelligence partnership
-
Uncategorized2 days ago
Kenneth Okonkwo eats his words, emerges as Atiku’s spokesperson
-
News3 days ago
ICPC: Why we detained ex-minister uche Nnaji
-
News23 hours ago
PFIPC scandal: NDC seeks Gbajabiamila’s sack, independent probe
-
Uncategorized2 days ago
Atiku reaffirms 2027 ambition after Court clears Mark-Led ADC
-
Uncategorized1 day ago
Another batch of 268 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa arrives Lagos
