The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Tinubu for retaining Uche Nnaji as minister of science, technology, and innovation, despite allegations that the certificates he presented for his appointment were forged.
According to an investigation by PREMIUM TIMES, Nnaji did not complete his university education, and both the bachelor’s degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate he presented to President Tinubu, as well as to the offices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Senate, were forged.
A Federal High Court in Abuja had earlier dismissed a request by the minister to prevent the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), from releasing his academic records.
In a statement issued on Monday, Bolaji Abdullahi, the national publicity secretary of the ADC, said the party was not surprised by Tinubu’s silence on the revelation, describing it as further proof of the administration’s “tolerance for corruption.”
Abdullahi stated that it was a disservice to the nation that a ministry responsible for 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 added that the issue is 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.
“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.”
Abdullahi stressed that governance must begin with integrity and credibility, arguing that Nigerians cannot 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,” he said.
The ADC called for Nnaji’s immediate suspension pending an independent investigation, adding 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 also urged the Senate and the DSS to review their vetting procedures for ministerial nominees, noting that “a senate that has obliged itself unreservedly to the will of the president is liable to fail in its duty to the people.”