Monday, October 12, 2026 - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cleared a former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, to contest the 2027 governorship election in Enugu State.
Mr Nnaji faces a criminal trial over certificate forgery at
the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He resigned as minister on 7 October last year, three days
after PREMIUM TIMES published an investigation revealing that the then-minister
forged his University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) degree and NYSC certificates,
which he submitted to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his
ministerial confirmation in 2023.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC) later launched an investigation into the former minister’s
certificate-forgery scandal.
The commission repeatedly invited Mr Nnaji to come in for
questioning. Still, he ignored the
invitations, which prompted the anti-graft agency to first launch a manhunt for
him before securing an
arrest order against him.
By 1 July, the anti-graft agency arrested
him at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as he arrived from Enugu on
a chartered flight.
The commission later filed six-count charges of certificate
forgery and money laundering against him before the Federal High Court.
Mr Nnaji was first arraigned
on 13 July. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail of N20
million.
The former minister was arraigned again on 21 September
before the court adjourned the trial until 26 October.
In the INEC’s final list of governorship candidates for the
2027 election, Mr Nnaji was cleared as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) for Enugu State.
The former minister is 13th on the final list the electoral
body released on Saturday, signed by the commission’s Secretary, Rose
Oriaran-Anthony.
His spokesperson, Robert Ngwu, is listed as running mate.
Mr Ngwu was Mr Nnaji’s running mate during his failed 2023
governorship bid on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform.
Mr Nnaji repeatedly denied forging his degree and NYSC
certificate, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
But in his submission to INEC for the 2027 governorship
election, the former minister omitted his disputed degree certificate. Instead,
he submitted his West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate as his
educational qualification.
His submission of the WAEC certificate raises fundamental
questions about his repeated claims of obtaining a UNN degree.
In October 2023, PREMIUM TIMES began investigating Mr
Nnaji’s academic records.
The then-minister had submitted his degree and NYSC
certificates to President Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial
confirmation. He claimed he obtained a degree from UNN in 1985.
Disturbed by the scrutiny, Mr Nnaji filed a suit in the
Federal High Court in Abuja to prevent UNN and its Vice-Chancellor, Simon
Ortuanya, from releasing his academic records.
Other defendants in the suit included the Minister of
Education, the National Universities Commission, the university’s registrar,
its former Acting Vice-Chancellor, Oguejiofo Ujam, and the University Senate.
However, the politician later applied for an out-of-court
settlement through his legal team.
Before Mr Nnaji could obtain a court injunction, Mr Ortuanya
had already responded to a PREMIUM TIMES Freedom of Information (FOI) letter,
confirming that Mr Nnaji had forged his UNN degree certificate.
The university registrar later corroborated this, indicating
that although Mr Nnaji was admitted in 1981, he neither graduated nor was
issued a certificate.
NYSC authorities also disowned the discharge certificate in
the then-minister’s possession in response to a separate FOI letter.
Mr Nnaji resigned as minister three days after this
newspaper published the investigation.
Meanwhile, in March, this newspaper exclusively reported
that an investigative panel set up by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa,
confirmed that Mr Nnaji forged his certificates.
Mr Nnaji later moved from the ruling APC to the PDP. In late
May, he emerged as the governorship candidate of the Nyesom Wike-backed PDP
faction for the 2027 general elections.
Reports indicate that Mr Nnaji is seeking the governorship
to secure immunity from prosecution.
In mid-June, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the ICPC
to arrest Mr Nnaji.
Despite denying the order’s existence, he filed an appeal
against it on 18 June at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
But the
ICPC went ahead to arrest him.
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