The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has cleared the immediate past Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, to contest in the PDP’s governorship primary election in Enugu State ahead of the state’s 2027 governorship election, despite Mr Nnaji’s certificate forgery scandal.
The PDP faction cleared Mr Nnaji during the party’s governorship screening exercise in Abuja on Thursday, PREMIUM TIMES gathered.
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The PDP faction’s governorship screening committee was chaired by Ahmed Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna State and former chairperson of the party.
Apart from the former minister, a renowned entrepreneur, Samsom Nnamani, was also screened and successfully cleared to take part in the PDP forthcoming governorship primary election.
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Mr Nnaji’s clearance by the PDP for his governorship bid came despite the certificate forgery scandal.
A painstaking two-year investigation published by PREMIUM TIMES in October 2025 uncovered how the then-minister forged his degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates, which he submitted to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial confirmation.
He resigned from the position as minister three days after this newspaper published the investigation.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the former minister quietly moved from the APC to the PDP, under which he unsuccessfully contested the 2023 governorship election in Enugu State.
Moreover, Mr Nnaji is pushing to become governor of Enugu State in 2027 despite being under investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for certificate forgery.
PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported in February that the ICPC began an investigation into Mr Nnaji’s forgery scandal.
Insiders had told this newspaper that the former minister could be prosecuted if the investigation shows he truly forged his credentials.
Meanwhile, in March, this newspaper also exclusively reported that an investigative panel set up by Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, found that Mr Nnaji indeed forged his degree and NYSC certificates.
Group kicks
A civil society organisation, Defence for Democracy, has criticised the PDP faction for screening and clearing Mr Nnaji for the party’s governorship primaries in Enugu State.
In a statement on Saturday by its National President, Emeka Nwachukwu, the organisation said the PDP may jeopardise its chances in the Enugu governorship election by clearing Mr Nnaji to contest its primaries despite the certificate forgery scandal.
The organisation warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress could rely on the forgery scandal to challenge and overturn any electoral victory secured by Mr Nnaji in court.
It noted that, while a court of law had not proven Mr Nnaji’s involvement in the forgery scandal, the PDP has a moral obligation to exercise caution before clearing him to contest the governorship.
The organisation suggested that, with the certificate forgery scandal hanging over the former minister, his ambition raises questions about integrity and public trust in leadership, stressing that “leadership must be built on trust, integrity, and credibility.”
“The people of Enugu State deserve leaders whose records can withstand public scrutiny without fear or controversy,” it said.
The organisation stressed that its intervention was guided by its commitment to promoting good governance and supporting individuals of integrity.
“From our findings, there are people who represent a great future, and as an organisation, we stand for good governance, and when our findings throw up people of impeccable character, we naturally step in to ensure that they excel.
“We therefore find it strange that people can move from controversy to ambition without addressing the questions hanging over their names,” it stated.
The group asked the former minister to clear his name before pursuing his governorship ambition, maintaining that the certificate forgery scandal and public reports concerning his credentials were too weighty to ignore.
It urged the national leadership of the PDP to immediately intervene and save the party from embarrassment.
“We are watching events in Enugu and other parts of the country, and we would have issued this statement to congratulate the Enugu state chapter of the party if it screened out the former minister, because there is a moral burden there which is far beyond what the courts might eventually pronounce,” the organisation said.
Background
In October 2023, PREMIUM TIMES began investigating Mr Nnaji’s academic records.
The then-minister had submitted a degree and NYSC certificates to President Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial confirmation in 2023.
He claimed he obtained a degree certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), where he purportedly graduated in 1985.
Apparently disturbed by the scrutiny, Mr Nnaji filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to block both UNN and its vice-chancellor, Simon Ortuanya, a professor, from releasing his academic records.
Apart from the UNN and its vice-chancellor, the minister of education, the National Universities Commission, the university’s registrar, a former UNN Acting Vice-Chancellor, Oguejiofor Ujam, and the university Senate were listed as defendants in the suit.
However, the politician, through his legal team, recently applied for an out-of-court settlement.
Before the then-minister could obtain an injunction from the court, Mr Ortuanya had responded to PREMIUM TIMES’ Freedom of Information (FOI) letter, confirming that Mr Nnaji had forged his UNN degree certificate.
The UNN registrar would shortly thereafter corroborate Mr Ortuanya’s position, stating that although Mr Nnaji was admitted to the university in 1981, he neither graduated nor received any certificate.
NYSC authorities, in response to a separate FOI letter from PREMIUM TIMES, had disowned the discharge certificate in possession of the then-minister.
Mr Nnaji resigned from his position as minister three days after this newspaper published the investigation exposing how he forged his degree and NYSC certificates.
Many Nigerians had called for Mr Nnaji’s prosecution, maintaining that his resignation was inadequate given his violations of various Nigerian laws, including the Criminal Code Act.
Three months ago, a legal practitioner, Liborous Oshoma, criticised the Nigerian government for failing to prosecute Mr Nnaji over the certificate forgery scandal, maintaining that people like the former minister “should be prosecuted and banned from holding public office to serve as a deterrent to others.”
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