REVEALED: ‘How Tinubu ordered Nnaji to resign as minister’

Fresh revelations have surfaced regarding the exit of former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji.

Findings indicated that President Bola Tinubu directed Nnaji to tender his resignation following serious allegations of certificate forgery.

Nnaji was accused of falsifying both his Bachelor’s degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates. He claimed to have graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1985 — a claim the university later denied.

According to presidential aides, President Tinubu summoned Nnaji to the State House and instructed him to step down from his position.

The crisis began after Premium Times published an investigation alleging that Nnaji submitted forged academic documents to the President and the Nigerian Senate during his 2023 ministerial screening.The online newspaper reported that Nnaji never completed his studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

Premium Times had, through a Freedom of Information request, sought Nnaji’s academic records from the university. In a letter dated October 2, 2025, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Simon Ortuanya informed the outlet that Nnaji’s certificate was not issued by the university as he did not finish his programme.

Following the revelation, Nnaji approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to prevent UNN from releasing his records. In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1909/2025, he filed an ex parte motion seeking to restrain the university from disclosing or altering his academic documents.

Court filings showed that Nnaji admitted he had not collected his degree certificate — contradicting his earlier claim of having submitted one during his ministerial screening.Justice Hausa Yilwa, in a ruling delivered on September 22, dismissed the former minister’s request.

After the publication of his admission, Nnaji resigned from his post, citing the need to protect his integrity and prevent further distractions to the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

According to him, his resignation came in response to “an orchestrated sustained campaign of falsehood, politically motivated, and malicious attacks” targeted at his person and office over the past week.

“These unfounded allegations and media distortions have not only caused personal distress but have also begun to distract from the vital work of the ministry and the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President,” he said.

Nnaji insisted that stepping down was not an admission of guilt but a move to uphold due process and respect ongoing court proceedings. He added that he would not allow “distractions to cast a shadow over the noble objectives” of the Tinubu administration, stressing that his reputation was built over “five decades anchored on hard work, honour, and service to humanity.”

However, a credible source at the Presidency confirmed that Nnaji’s resignation was not voluntary.“The President invited him over to the Villa and asked him to resign. He was not threatened with a sack; the President didn’t have to do that because he appointed him and he could ask him to resign. So, Nnaji had no option than to do that,” the source said.

When asked whether the Department of State Services (DSS) would be sanctioned for failing to detect the alleged forgery, the source explained, “We cannot place the blame solely on the DSS. What about the Senate that screened him? They were also expected to scrutinise the certificates he presented.”

Another senior aide said the resignation became necessary to avoid further embarrassment to the government.“The President asked him (Nnaji) to resign. Of course, he had become an embarrassment and a distraction to the government and the longer you drag it, the more damaging it becomes. Some ministers and presidential aides felt that the earlier the President offloaded him (Nnaji), the better. He was becoming a liability to the government. It is not an allegation that can be swept under the carpet, so the best thing was for him to leave. Give him a soft landing, so the President told him to resign,” he said.

The aide also accused UNN of complicity for allowing the controversy to linger.

The university’s registrar, Celine Nnebedum, had told People’s Gazette on December 21, 2023, that Nnaji graduated, but later retracted the claim in May and again in October 2025.“It took that long (for Nnaji’s resignation) because the university wrote a letter that he (Nnaji) graduated; they claimed that he graduated, but they are now saying that he did not graduate,” the source added.

He also absolved the DSS of wrongdoing, suggesting the agency may have been misled by the university.“I know that the DSS has the resources to do a good job and they have always done a good job, maybe this one slipped or maybe they got the letter from the school that he graduated from there,” he said.

A DSS official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also defended the agency’s actions, maintaining that it carried out its duties diligently but declined to provide further details.

(PUNCH)