More details have emerged on the resignation of a former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji.

The embattled minister was ordered to resign following allegations of certificate forgery against him.

Nnaji was accused of forging his BSc and National Youth Service Corps certificates.

The former minister claimed to have acquired his degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, in 1985, which the school denied.

Presidential aides told Saturday PUNCH that President Bola Tinubu invited Nnaji to the Villa, where he was directed to resign.

The scandal

Nnaji’s ordeal started when Premium Times published an investigation exposing how he allegedly forged his degree and NYSC certificates, which he submitted to the President and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial screening in 2023.

The online medium insisted that Nnaji did not complete his university education.

Premium Times, in a Freedom of Information request to UNN, asked the university to release Nnaji’s academic records.

In a letter dated October 2, 2025, the university Vice-Chancellor, Prof Simon Ortuanya, told Premium Times that the university did not issue Nnaji’s certificate, as he did not complete his studies.

The ex-minister then approached the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to stop UNN from releasing his academic records.

Nnaji, through an ex parte motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1909/2025, asked the court to restrain the university from releasing or tampering with his academic records.

In court documents filed in the suit, Nnaji admitted that he had yet to collect his degree certificate. This was contrary to his earlier submission of a certificate during his ministerial screening.

Justice Hausa Yilwa, in a ruling delivered on September 22, dismissed Nnaji’s request.

Resignation

Following the publication of his open admission, Nnaji resigned his ministerial appointment.

Nnaji said the decision was taken to protect his integrity and prevent distractions to the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

According to him, his exit followed “an orchestrated sustained campaign of falsehood, politically motivated, and malicious attacks” targeted at his person and office over the past week.

“These unfounded allegations and media distortions have not only caused personal distress but have also begun to distract from the vital work of the ministry and the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President,” he said.

Nnaji maintained that his decision to quit was not an admission of guilt, but a move to uphold due process and respect ongoing judicial proceedings.

The former minister said he could not in good conscience allow “distractions to cast a shadow over the noble objectives” of the Tinubu administration, adding that his reputation had been built over “five decades anchored on hard work, honour, and service to humanity.”

How Nnaji was forced to resign

Meanwhile, a credible source in the Presidency told Saturday PUNCH that the ex-minister was forced to resign.

“The President invited him over to the Villa and asked him to resign. He was not threatened with a sack; the President didn’t have to do that because he appointed him and he could ask him to resign. So, Nnaji had no option than to do that,” he said.

When asked whether the President would take action against the Department of State Services for allowing Nnaji’s alleged certificate forgery to slip through the vetting process, the source said, “We cannot place the blame solely on the DSS. What about the Senate that screened him? They were also expected to scrutinise the certificates he presented.”

Another senior presidential aide noted that Nnaji had to resign to save the government from further embarrassment.

“The President asked him (Nnaji) to resign. Of course, he had become an embarrassment and a distraction to the government and the longer you drag it, the more damaging it becomes. Some ministers and presidential aides felt that the earlier the President offloaded him (Nnaji), the better. He was becoming a liability to the government. It is not an allegation that can be swept under the carpet, so the best thing was for him to leave. Give him a soft landing, so the President told him to resign,” he said.

He accused UNN of complicity for allowing the matter to drag on for so long.

The university’s registrar, Celine Nnebedum, had on December 21, 2023, told People’s Gazette that Nnaji graduated.

Nnebedum recanted the claim in May and October 2025.

“It took that long (for Nnaji’s resignation) because the university wrote a letter that he (Nnaji) graduated; they claimed that he graduated, but they are now saying that he did not graduate,” the source added.

He also exonerated the DSS, arguing that the security agency might have been misled by the university.

“I know that the DSS has the resources to do a good job and they have always done a good job, maybe this one slipped or maybe they got the letter from the school that he graduated from there,” he said.

A DSS official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said people blaming the security agency did not know what played out behind the scene.

The source insisted that the agency played its role with due diligence.