The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu for retaining Uche Nnaji, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, despite serious allegations that the certificates he presented for his appointment were forged.
An investigation by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that Nnaji did not complete his university education and that both his bachelor’s degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate were falsified. The report said the forged documents were presented to the president, the secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), the Department of State Services (DSS), and the senate during his ministerial screening.
A federal high court in Abuja had earlier dismissed a suit filed by Nnaji to restrain the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), from releasing his academic records — a decision that further intensified public scrutiny of his credentials.
In a statement issued on Monday, Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the ADC, said the party was not surprised by the president’s silence on the matter, describing it as further proof of the administration’s “tolerance for corruption.”
Abdullahi said it was a disservice to the nation that a ministry charged with driving innovation and research was being led by someone with “dubious credentials.”
“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is not surprised that despite mounting evidence and public outrage, the minister of science, technology, and innovation, Mr Uche Nnaji, remains in office after being accused and subsequently admitting that the certificates he presented were not issued by the relevant institutions and may have been forged,” the statement reads.
The ADC spokesperson said the case was not an isolated one but part of a “long, public, and familiar record” of certificate scandals involving senior officials in the All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
“These recurring scandals and the persistent stench of certificate forgery are indeed reflective of a party that is foundationally accommodating of deceit and clearly unbothered by basic ethical considerations,” he said.
Abdullahi questioned why Tinubu had not dismissed the minister, saying:
“If the minister is not honourable enough to resign, why is the Tinubu administration still keeping him in office? By refusing to act, the Tinubu government and the APC are admitting their complicity in such fraudulent conduct at the highest levels of their government and making a mockery of their claims to be fighting corruption.”
He added that governance must begin with integrity and credibility, noting that Nigerians could not trust a government “populated by people who have lied under oath about their qualifications.”
“A ministry whose mandate is to drive innovation, research, and the advancement of knowledge is now tainted by the dubious credentials of the man that President Tinubu has found fit to serve,” Abdullahi said.
The opposition party called for Nnaji’s immediate suspension pending an independent investigation, stressing that if found guilty, he should face prosecution for forgery and perjury.
“Certificate forgery is not a clerical error; it is a crime. If proven, it must attract the full weight of the law,” Abdullahi said.
He urged the senate and the DSS to review their vetting processes for ministerial nominees, adding that the legislature’s failure to act independently had further eroded public trust.
“A senate that has obliged itself unreservedly to the will of the president is liable to fail in its duty to the people,” he added.
