President Bola Tinubu has accepted the resignation of Geoffrey Nnaji, the minister of innovation, science, and technology, following allegations of certificate forgery against him.
President Tinubu appointed Nnaji in August 2023.
He resigned Tuesday in a letter thanking the President for allowing him to serve Nigeria,Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the president, said in a statement.
Nnaji said he has been a target of blackmail by political opponents.
President Tinubu thanked him for his service and wished him well in future endeavours.
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The controversy over Nnaji’s certificate began in July 2023 when he was included among the first batch of ministerial nominees. The authenticity of his academic and NYSC certificates were questioned, after claims emerged that he never completed his university education.
An investigation by Premium Times concluded that both the bachelor’s degree and NYSC discharge certificate submitted by the minister were forgeries. Until recently, Nnaji had not publicly responded to the allegations. But new court documents have now revealed his side and his own statements confirm that he never received a certificate from UNN.
Nnaji said in an affidavit that he was admitted to study Microbiology/Biochemistry in 1981 and that he completed the programme in 1985. In the same document, he noted that he had not been issued a certificate, blaming “the non-cooperative attitude” of UNN officials for his inability to collect it.
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He cited a letter issued by the university in December 2023 to People’s Gazette, confirming that he was indeed a student who “graduated” in 1985 with a Second Class (Lower Division) degree. However, this letter did not include or represent an actual certificate and his court filing indirectly confirmed that he does not possess one.
By admitting that the university never issued him a certificate, Nnaji has, in essence, validated the claims of forgery earlier made against him.
