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.
Simon U. Ortuanya
“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)
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has disclosed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar asked him to persuade Peter Obi to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and accept the position of his running mate in the 2027 presidential election.
Babachir Lawal made the disclosure in an interview with Diaspora Digital Media while recounting events surrounding the opposition negotiations that preceded the eventual divergence of the Atiku and Obi camps.
According to him, Atiku personally contacted him and gave him the task of approaching Obi with the proposal.
“Atiku called me and told me that he wanted to work with me. He gave me a mission to convince Peter Obi to join the ADC and serve as his vice president,” Lawal said.
He said Atiku’s proposal included an arrangement under which the two would serve for four years and subsequently pursue a constitutional amendment to create a single six-year presidential term, which Obi would then benefit from.
“He explained that during their four-year term, they would amend the Constitution to a single six-year term, which Obi would benefit from. I went to Obi with this proposal, but Peter Obi said he was not interested,” he added.
Lawal’s account has, however, been disputed by Obi, who said he could not have rejected an offer that was never made to him.
The disclosure comes amid continuing political realignments ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Lawal had earlier resigned from the ADC in June 2026, alleging irregularities in the party’s presidential primary that produced Atiku as its candidate. Atiku’s camp rejected the allegations.
Lawal subsequently joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in September and declared support for the party’s Peter Obi-Rabiu Kwankwaso presidential ticket. (Nigerian Tribune)
Enugu SSG, Prof Chidiebere Onyia and Frank Nweke Jnr
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…Unveils 25-year plan to sustain transformation beyond individual administrations
The Enugu State Government has unveiled a 25-year development plan aimed at ensuring that the state’s ongoing transformation outlives individual administrations, with Governor Peter Mbah declaring that the government’s focus is shifting from simply delivering projects to building strong institutions and achieving lasting improvements in the lives of citizens.
Mbah made the declaration at the 2026 Enugu State Global Goals Week Symposium, held at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Enugu, with the theme, “From Projects to Lasting Impact: Sustaining Enugu State’s Development Transformation.”
Governor Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said the state’s development agenda was being deliberately aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure that investments in infrastructure, human capital and critical services produced measurable and enduring impact.
He said the administration had continued to prioritise investments in education, healthcare, roads, agriculture, water, technology, security and other critical sectors, stressing that the projects were not ends in themselves but part of a broader strategy to build systems capable of sustaining development over the long term.
“Our objective is not merely to execute projects, but to build systems and institutions capable of delivering enduring development and ensuring that the transformation we are driving today is sustained beyond the tenure of any single administration,” Mbah said.
He said the 25-year development plan would provide continuity, guide long-term investments, strengthen institutions, expand economic opportunities, improve human capital and promote inclusive development across the state.
Mbah noted that the state’s commitment to the SDGs was reflected in the spread of development interventions across the 260 electoral wards, particularly through the Smart Green Schools and Primary Healthcare Centres.
He assured that the government would continue to strengthen institutions, improve service delivery and put in place mechanisms to sustain the development gains achieved under the administration.
In a welcome address, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals and Enugu State SDGs Focal Person, Onyinye Akubuilo-Okpalanma, said the state’s transformation must remain people-centred, inclusive and sustainable.
She said government programmes should be judged not simply by the number of projects completed or funds spent, but by their impact on residents, the opportunities created and the communities strengthened.
“The success of government programmes should not be measured only by the number of projects completed or the amount of money spent, but by the extent to which those interventions improve the daily lives of our people, expand opportunities and strengthen communities,” she said.
Akubuilo-Okpalanma called for stronger community participation, continuous monitoring, reliable data and greater transparency in public finance and project implementation. She also urged greater attention to vulnerable groups and sustained investment in education, primary healthcare and environmental protection.
She called on development partners, civil society organisations, traditional institutions, the private sector and community leaders to work with government to sustain development gains, stressing the importance of continuity, institutional memory and long-term planning.
“Enugu’s transformation will be judged not only by the projects visible today, but also by the quality of institutions, opportunities and services available to future generations,” she said.
In a keynote address titled “From Projects to Lasting Impact: Sustaining Enugu State’s Development Transformation,” former Minister of Information, Frank Nweke Jnr., commended the scale and pace of public investment in the state over the past three years.
Nweke said the Mbah administration had reported more than 1,500 kilometres of roads constructed or reconstructed, over 7,000 classrooms and 260 Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres.
He also cited the 2025 budget, in which ₦837.9 billion, representing 86 per cent of the budget, was allocated to capital expenditure, while ₦320.6 billion, representing more than one-third of the total budget, was allocated to education.
He stressed that improved domestic revenue mobilisation was essential to sustaining ambitious development, noting that the financial capacity to fund projects, maintain public assets and support institutions was critical to long-term transformation.
“Projects can transform places, but strong institutions are necessary to ensure that the transformation endures,” Nweke said.
He identified five priorities for sustaining Enugu’s development: linking investments to clearly defined problems and measurable outcomes; embedding the SDGs in planning and budgeting; measuring outcomes rather than expenditure alone; providing for the maintenance of public assets from the outset; and strengthening institutions, professional capacity and accountability mechanisms.
In separate goodwill messages, the UNICEF Field Office, Enugu representative, Juliet Chiluwe; the Special Adviser on Legislative Matters, Rt. Hon. Paul Nnajiofor; and Amb. Amaka Nweke commended the state’s development efforts and emphasised the need for inclusive, accountable and sustainable development that would continue to benefit present and future generations.
The event brought together government officials, development partners, traditional and community stakeholders, civil society representatives and members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), among other participants.
The Federal Government (FG) has reduced the penalty interest rate for late settlement of tax liabilities, with the new regime taking effect from October 1, 2026.
Under the new arrangement, interest on tax liabilities payable in naira will be pegged to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) plus one percentage point, down from the previous five-percentage-point penalty.
The measure is contained in the Nigeria Tax Administration (Interest on Late Payment of Tax) Order, 2026, issued yesterday by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, pursuant to Section 65 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025.
According to the minister, the new Order will apply uniformly to taxpayers dealing with federal, state and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) tax authorities.
However, the applicable interest rate on naira-denominated tax liabilities will not fall below the yield on 364-day Treasury Bills, reflecting the Federal Government’s cost of borrowing when tax payments are delayed.
For tax liabilities payable in foreign currencies, interest will be charged at the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus six percentage points.
The Order further provides that where SOFR is discontinued, its officially designated successor rate will apply.
Explaining the rationale for the new regime, Oyedele said the objective was to align the cost of late tax payments more closely with prevailing market conditions while providing taxpayers with greater certainty about their obligations.
“Tax that is due belongs to the public. When it is paid late, Government may have to borrow to fill the gap, and the cost falls on everyone.
“This Order ties the cost of late payment to real market rates, so that delaying tax does not become a cheaper form of credit than the market itself,” he stated.
