The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Geoffrey Uche Nnaji, has resigned his position following allegations of certificate forgery levelled against him.

President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the resignation in a statement on Tuesday, saying the President has accepted the Minister’s decision to step down.

He added that “President Tinubu appointed Nnaji in August 2023. He resigned today in a letter thanking the President for allowing him to serve Nigeria.”

Onanuga further quoted the former Minister as saying he had “been a target of blackmail by political opponents.”

“President Tinubu thanked him for his service and wished him well in future endeavours,” the statement added.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, has admitted under oath that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) did not issue him a degree certificate.

This revelation, contained in court documents, followed an investigative report published by Premium Times on Sunday, which alleged that Nnaji forged the academic credentials he submitted to President Bola Tinubu and the Senate during his ministerial screening.

Nnaji, who has faced persistent allegations of certificate forgery since his nomination in July 2023, made the disclosure in a suit he filed before Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The case was instituted against the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), UNN, its Vice-Chancellor Professor Simon Ortuanya, its Registrar, former acting Vice-Chancellor Professor, Oguenjiofor Ujam, and the University Senate.

In the motion ex-parte, the minister sought leave of the court to issue prerogative writs prohibiting the university and its officials from “tampering with” his academic records.

He also sought an order of mandamus to compel the university to release his academic transcript, as well as directives to the Minister of Education and the NUC to enforce compliance.

Nnaji further requested an interim injunction restraining the university from altering his records pending the determination of the substantive suit.

In a ruling delivered on September 22, Justice Yilwa granted three of the minister’s prayers but declined to issue an injunctive order against the defendants.
The case was adjourned to October 6 for further hearing.

However, in his 34-paragraph verifying affidavit, Nnaji confirmed that he never obtained a degree certificate from UNN.

The minister claimed that the university’s officials had failed to cooperate with him.

He stated that he was admitted to the university in 1981 to study Microbiology/Biochemistry and completed the program in 1985. In paragraph 13 of his affidavit, he wrote:

“Even though I am yet to collect my certificate from the 3rd Defendant (UNN), due largely to the non-cooperative attitude of the 3rd–5th Defendants (UNN, its Vice-Chancellor, and Registrar), the 3rd Defendant issued a letter dated 21st December 2023 to People’s Gazette (attention: Samuel Ogundipe) which stated amongst other things as follows:

“This is to confirm that Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, with registration number 1981/30725, was admitted in 1981 to study Microbiology/Biochemistry at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Mr. Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji graduated from the University of Nigeria in July 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology/Biochemistry, Second Class (Hons.) Lower Division.’”

Despite this acknowledgment, questions persist about the authenticity of the academic documents Nnaji submitted to the Presidency and Senate.

Nnaji was among the first batch of 28 ministerial nominees President Tinubu forwarded to the Senate in July 2023, shortly after assuming office.

The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has unveiled a new immigration plan aimed at deporting 150,000 illegal migrants every year, describing it as the “toughest reforms Britain has ever seen.”

In a video message posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account on Sunday, Badenoch said the Radical Borders Plan would introduce a new Removals Force, modelled after the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to overhaul the UK’s border enforcement system.

As a caption to the video, she wrote: “My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported. Our new Removals Force, modelled on US ICE, will deport 150,000 illegal migrants each year.”

Badenoch, who has consistently positioned herself as a hardliner on immigration, criticised both Conservative and Labour governments for their handling of the migration crisis.

“Today, I’m launching our Radical Borders Plan, the toughest reforms Britain has ever seen to border laws and operations.

Successive governments have failed on immigration. Labour promised to smash the gangs.

Instead, in just a year, they delivered record small boat crossings, over 50,000 illegal arrivals, 32,000 people in asylum hotels, billions wasted.

It’s pure weakness. Britain needs a serious, credible plan and the backbone to deliver it,” Badenoch said.

According to the proposed plan, asylum claims from illegal entrants will be banned, the Human Rights Act repealed, and the UK will withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Badenoch said all illegal arrivals would be deported within a week, with legal barriers to mass deportations removed and visa sanctions imposed on countries that refuse to repatriate their citizens.

She added that the new enforcement agency would also “shut down the asylum hotel racket,” save taxpayers billions of pounds, and restore public trust in Britain’s borders.

“Only the Conservatives have a serious, credible plan to deliver stronger borders. If you come here illegally, you will be deported,” Badenoch concluded.