FG Panel Confirms Former Minister, Uche Nnaji Forged UNN Certificate
A Federal Government investigative panel has confirmed allegations that the immediate past Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, forged his degree certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
The findings were contained in a report submitted to the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, in December 2025 following an inquiry triggered by a petition filed by the former minister.
According to details of the report cited in an exclusive publication by Premium Times, the seven-member panel concluded that the certificate presented by Nnaji was not supported by official university records.
The panel was constituted on November 23, 2025, to investigate the allegations after the former minister petitioned the education ministry over an earlier report that claimed he falsified both his university degree and his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.
In his petition dated October 14, 2025, Nnaji accused senior officials of the university of unethical disclosure, manipulation of records, and political interference in his academic file. He specifically alleged that the Vice-Chancellor of UNN, Simon Ortuanya, and a former Acting Vice-Chancellor, Oguejiofor Ujam, issued unauthorised correspondence and facilitated the release of misleading information to the media regarding his academic history.
The investigative panel, chaired by the Director of the University Education Department in the Federal Ministry of Education, Rakiya Gambo Ilyasu, said it employed multiple methods including documentary analysis, interviews, verification exercises and a technical audit of records during the probe.
As part of its investigation, members of the panel visited the university campus in Nsukka, where they met with the institution’s leadership and examined relevant academic documents and archival materials.
The report said investigators accessed Nnaji’s personal academic file, reviewed internal correspondence issued by the university in 2023 and 2025, and examined historical records including registry movement logs, Senate-approved graduation lists, convocation archives and electronic access logs.
According to the panel’s findings, a review of the Senate-approved graduation list for 1985 and the student file associated with Nnaji showed that his name was not listed among graduates for that academic year. The panel said this discovery formed a key basis for its conclusion that the certificate presented by the former minister was not authentic.
