BREAKING: Tinubu Sacks Nnaji After Degree Saga
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has accepted the resignation of Geoffrey Uche Nnaji, the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, amid forgery allegations levelled against him.
Nnaji, who was appointed by President Tinubu in August 2023, tendered his resignation in a letter on Tuesday, expressing gratitude to the President for the opportunity to serve the country.
The announcement was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
In his letter, the former minister claimed he had been the target of blackmail by political opponents, which influenced his decision to step down.
President Tinubu, in response, thanked Nnaji for his service and wished him success in his future endeavours.
On Saturday, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), had formally disowned the Bachelor of Science degree certificate being paraded by Nnaji.
The UNN said Nnaji never graduated from the institution and was never issued such a document.
The development brought new weight to allegations that had dogged Nnaji since July 2023, when he was named among the first batch of 28 ministerial nominees sent to the Senate by President Tinubu.
At the time, critics argued that his academic and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) credentials were fake, insisting that he had not completed his studies at the Nsukka-based university.
In response to a Freedom of Information request by PREMIUM TIMES, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Simon U. Ortuanya, confirmed that while Nnaji was admitted in 1981, there was no record that he completed his studies or graduated from the institution.
On Sunday, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Nnaji had admitted that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), never issued him a degree certificate.
According to the report, Nnaji made the admission in court documents filed before Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The minister had instituted a suit against the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), the University of Nigeria, its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simon Ortuanya, the Registrar, a former Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oguejiofor Ujam, and the university’s Senate.
The court filings confirm that Nnaji personally acknowledged not having been issued a certificate by the institution.
In his verifying affidavit supporting a motion ex parte, which was obtained by the newspaper, Nnaji recounted that he was admitted in 1981 to study Microbiology/Biochemistry and claimed to have completed the programme in 1985. However, in paragraph 13 of the affidavit, he confessed that he had never collected any certificate from the university.
He stated, “That even though I am yet to collect my certificate from the 3rd Defendant (UNN), due largely to the non-cooperative attitude of the 3rd–5th Defendants (UNN, its Vice-Chancellor, and Registrar), the 3rd Defendant issued a letter dated 21st December 2023 to People’s Gazette (attention: Samuel Ogundipe) which stated amongst other things as follows: ‘This is to confirm that Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, with registration number 1981/30725, was admitted in 1981 to study Microbiology/Biochemistry at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Mr Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji graduated from the University of Nigeria in July 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology/Biochemistry, Second Class (Hons.) Lower Division.’”
The letter, signed by UNN Registrar Celine Nnebedum and sent to the People’s Gazette, has since been invalidated.
In May 2025, Mrs Nnebedum wrote to the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), stating that the university searched its 1985 graduation records but could not find Nnaji’s name.
