President Bola Tinubu has accepted the resignation of Geoffrey Nnaji, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, following allegations that he forged his academic and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates.
The development, confirmed in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday, marks the latest in a series of cabinet departures since Tinubu’s administration began in August 2023.
“He resigned today in a letter thanking the President for allowing him to serve Nigeria,” Onanuga said. “President Tinubu thanked him for his service and wished him well in his future endeavours.”
Presidency sources said that the president had privately asked Nnaji to step down rather than be dismissed. The decision was finalised late Tuesday at the State House in Abuja, following consultations with key advisers. Nnaji was not present at the meeting.
“The embattled minister was asked to resign honourably instead of being fired,” one senior aide confirmed.
Allegations of Forgery
Nnaji’s resignation follows a damning Premium Times investigation published at the weekend, alleging that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), had disowned the degree certificate he submitted during his ministerial screening in 2023.
The report claimed that although Nnaji was admitted to study Microbiology/Biochemistry in 1981, the university said he did not complete his studies and was never awarded a degree. In a letter responding to a Freedom of Information request, UNN’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simon Ortuanya, confirmed that Nnaji “is not a graduate of the institution.”
This directly contradicted an earlier statement by the university’s Registrar, Dr Celine Nnebedum, who had in December 2023 affirmed Nnaji’s graduation. She later withdrew that confirmation in May 2025, telling the Public Complaints Commission that the university’s records did not include Nnaji among the 1985 graduates.
Further scrutiny revealed that Nnaji had, in a sworn affidavit, admitted that UNN never issued him a degree certificate, stating he had “never collected one.”
Legal Battle and Denial
In response, Nnaji took legal action in September, suing the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), UNN, its Vice-Chancellor, and others at the Federal High Court. The minister sought an injunction to prevent the university from “tampering” with his records.
At the hearing on Monday, Nnaji’s lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Sebastian Hon, accused UNN of “political mischief,” while the university’s counsel, E.M. Asogwa, defended the institution’s position.
Nnaji’s team has rejected the forgery claims as part of a “smear campaign” allegedly sponsored by a serving governor.
“It is increasingly clear that this entire episode is not about education or integrity—it is about political desperation, disguised as academic inquiry,” Nnaji said through his spokesperson, Dr Robert Ngwu.
He insisted that he graduated from UNN in 1985 with a BSc in Microbiology/Biochemistry and displayed a copy of the university’s graduation brochure featuring his photograph and name—listed as “Nnaji Uchenna G.” He also dismissed concerns over the variation between that name and his official name, “Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji,” as “culturally insignificant.”
Mounting Pressure on Tinubu’s Cabinet
The scandal adds to a growing list of controversies within Tinubu’s administration. Nnaji becomes the eighth minister to leave cabinet since August 2023.
The president carried out a major reshuffle in October 2024, sacking five ministers and reassigning ten others in what was described as a “performance retooling.”
Earlier, in December 2023, Labour Minister Simon Lalong resigned to take up a Senate seat, while in January 2024, Humanitarian Affairs Minister Betta Edu was suspended over alleged mismanagement of social investment funds — an episode that sparked an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission probe.
Nnaji’s exit now adds another layer of turbulence to an administration already grappling with issues of credibility, governance reform, and public trust.
