A fierce political showdown has erupted in Enugu State between Governor Peter Mbah and Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, over allegations of certificate forgery linked to Nnaji’s academic record.
The controversy stems from Nnaji’s purported Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka,UNN.
In a letter to Premium Times, UNN Vice-Chancellor Prof. Simon Ortuanya confirmed that while Nnaji was admitted to the institution in 1981, he “did not complete his studies” and was never issued a degree certificate.
The disclosure has thrown Nnaji’s credentials, including his National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, certificate, into fresh scrutiny.
Nnaji, who contested the 2023 Enugu governorship election under the All Progressives Congress,APC, and finished fourth behind Mbah, has strongly denied the allegations.
Speaking through his spokesperson, Dr. Robert Ngwu, during a press briefing in Abuja on October 6, the minister described the forgery accusations as a politically motivated witch-hunt orchestrated by Governor Mbah to weaken a rival ahead of the 2027 elections.
“The governor had given a new name to all his problems — Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji,” Ngwu said, alleging that Mbah viewed the minister as an obstacle to his political ambitions.
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Ngwu further disclosed that Nnaji had applied for his academic transcript from UNN to clear his name, but claimed that the institution withheld it despite a court order. He accused the university of keeping the minister’s file “under lock and key” in the Vice-Chancellor’s office.
However, the Enugu State Government swiftly distanced itself from the controversy. In a statement, the Director of Information, Chukwuemeka Nebo, insisted the government had no role in the matter.
“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,” Nebo said.
Nebo also faulted Nnaji’s decision to send representatives to the press briefing rather than address the media himself. “Who can narrate Chief Nnaji’s UNN story better than him? Why invite the media, only to outsource the conference?” he asked.
The state government further posed a series of questions over discrepancies in Nnaji’s academic history. Among them: whether he presented a UNN degree certificate to the Senate during his ministerial screening, despite admitting in a Federal High Court filing that he never collected any certificate from the university; whether he failed Virology (Course code: MCB 431) in 1985 and sought multiple resits; and how he came into possession of the degree certificate he purportedly presented to lawmakers.
With accusations and counter-accusations mounting, the scandal has widened into a political battlefield between the two Enugu power players. As both camps dig in, public pressure is growing for Nnaji to personally clarify his academic history and address the questions that continue to cast shadows over his political career.
Newdiplomatng.com
