Questions Mount Over Uche Nnaji’s Credentials as INEC List Shows Only WAEC Qualification. What Happened to His University Degree and NYSC Certificate?
Enugu Citizens’ Charter of Demands insists that these troubling questions cannot be ignored and demands clear, credible and verifiable answers.
Former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, has been listed as the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate for Enugu State, with his Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination qualification appearing on the final list published by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The development raises a straightforward but deeply troubling question: What happened to the university degree and National Youth Service Corps documents previously associated with his ministerial appointment?
Reports say Uche Nnaji is facing a six-count criminal charge brought by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission. The allegations include certificate forgery, giving false information, abuse of office and money laundering. He was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja in July 2026 and pleaded not guilty.
The case therefore remains an allegation before the court, but Nnaji’s submittion of only WAEC result is worrisome. But that does not make the public-interest questions disappear.
The credential controversy intensified following reports that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka disowned the degree certificate attributed to Uche Nnaji. According to those reports, the university’s records showed that he was admitted but did not complete his studies and was not awarded a degree.
Yet the qualification now appearing against his name on the INEC candidates’ list is reportedly his WAEC result, rather than the disputed university and NYSC documents.
Submitting a WAEC result now, by itself, amount to a legal confession of forgery. But politically, it leaves Uche Nnaji with serious questions to answer.
If the university degree previously attributed to him is genuine, why is it absent from the qualifications now presented for public scrutiny?
If the NYSC document is authentic, why is it no longer being relied upon?
If his critics are wrong, why has he not resolved the controversy by publishing independently verifiable confirmations from the issuing institutions?
These are not questions that should be buried beneath campaign slogans, party propaganda or carefully worded statements. They concern honesty, judgment and fitness for public office.
Uche Nnaji resigned from the cabinet of President Bola Tinubu in October 2025 amid the controversy surrounding his academic credentials. Reports indicate that he maintained that his resignation was not an admission of guilt and described the accusations as politically motivated.
That defence deserves to be recorded. But so do the unresolved contradictions.
A governorship candidate asking the people of Enugu State to entrust him with executive power should not expect voters to overlook fundamental questions about the documents connected to his previous public appointment. Public office is not a shelter from scrutiny, and an election cannot serve as an eraser for unanswered allegations.
The court will determine criminal liability. Voters, however, are entitled to assess credibility, transparency and judgment.
Ndi Enugu, shine your eyes. Demand the documents. Examine the record. Ask the questions that campaign handlers would rather avoid.
Before anyone receives your vote, insist on clear and verifiable answers:
- Was Uche Nnaji awarded a university degree?
- Did the NYSC issue the certificate previously attributed to him?
- Why does the INEC publication reportedly contain only his WAEC qualification?
- What is his complete response to each allegation in the pending criminal case?
- Why should voters place their trust in him while these questions remain unresolved? Enugu Citizens’ Charter of Demands insists that these troubling questions cannot be ignored and demands clear, credible and verifiable answers.
A ballot is not a certificate of innocence. Party nomination is not proof of integrity. And silence is not an answer.
The people of Enugu State deserve leadership whose credentials can survive verification, whose record can withstand scrutiny and whose answers do not create even more questions.
