Nnaji: My UNN Degree, Authentic and Documented

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, has forcefully rejected what it calls “deliberate misinformation” regarding his academic qualifications, stating his degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) is authentic and documented.

The minister’s spokesperson, Dr Robert Ngwu, stated this at a press briefing in Abuja when addressing recent media reports that had questioned the minister’s credentials.

“Let me state clearly and for the record: Chief Uche Nnaji is a proud alumnus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), having graduated in July 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology/Biochemistry, with Second Class (Honours) Lower Division,” Dr Ngwu told journalists.

He presented what he described as the only authentic record on the matter: an official letter from UNN dated 21 December 2023. The letter, written in response to an inquiry from the People’s Gazette and signed by Mrs I.A.S. Onyeador for the Registrar, confirmed Mr Nnaji’s admission in 1981 and his graduation in 1985.

Dr Ngwu read from the document: “Mr. Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, with registration number 1981/30725, was admitted in 1981 to study Microbiology/Biochemistry and graduated in July 1985 with a Bachelor of Science, Second Class (Honours) Lower Division.”

He contrasted this with a second, more recent letter that surfaced in May 2025, which he said was “purported” and “allegedly written by the University,” claiming there were “no records” of the minister’s graduation.

The spokesperson framed this discrepancy as a matter of “political intrigue.” He posed a pointed question to the public: “What changed between December 2023 and May 2025 — apart from the fact that two card-carrying members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) suddenly emerged as Acting Vice Chancellor and then Vice Chancellor of the University?”

He further argued that it was an “aberration in university protocol” for a Vice Chancellor to handle such records, stating that by global academic convention, the Registrar is the sole custodian of examination and graduation records.

Dr Ngwu revealed that the minister had sought legal redress over the issue. He informed the press that the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Hon. Justice H.J. Yilwa, had granted protective orders on 22 September 2025.

The court orders included “an injunction restraining the Vice Chancellor and management of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, from tampering or continuing to tamper with the Honourable Minister’s academic records” and “an order of mandamus compelling the University to release his academic transcript.”

According to the spokesperson, the legal action was necessary because the minister got “wind of attempts within the University to tamper with or alter his academic file.”

Dr Ngwu accused the University’s Vice Chancellor, whom he noted is a lawyer, of ignoring the court order. “Unfortunately, instead of adhering strictly to the valid court order, the Vice Chancellor… resorted to cyber bullying and politically motivated media trial against Chief Uche Nnaji,” he said.

He characterised the entire episode as a “pattern of desperation,” asserting that it is “increasingly clear that this entire episode is not about education or integrity — it is about political desperation, disguised as academic inquiry.”

Concluding the government’s position, Dr Ngwu stated that the minister remains focused on his official duties. “He will not be distracted by lies or by those who weaponize institutions and media platforms for political gain,” he said.

The spokesperson ended by reiterating the core facts: that the minister graduated in 1985, that the university confirmed this in 2023, and that “any other claim or document to the contrary is false, malicious, and politically motivated.”