Uche Geoffrey Nnaji Resigns as Minister of Science and Technology Amid Certificate Scandal: Inside the Political Chess Behind His Fall
The resignation of Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, Minister for Science and Technology, has sent ripples through Nigeria’s political landscape. The news, terse yet seismic, broke late Tuesday evening — “Just In: Minister for Science and Technology has resigned following certificate forgery allegations.” But behind that single sentence lies a complex web of power, ambition, and strategic repositioning in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to recalibrate his coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
At first glance, the resignation appears like a typical case of political accountability — a public official stepping down over allegations of certificate fraud. But as insiders and political observers soon discovered, Chief Nnaji’s exit was not merely an act of contrition or moral consequence. It was a move born out of high-stakes political bargaining involving Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, the Presidency, and the APC’s National Secretariat.
Sources close to the discussions revealed that Governor Mbah’s planned defection to the APC came with two uncompromising preconditions: the removal of Chief Uche Nnaji as Minister and the sacking of Ugochukwu Agballa, the embattled APC Chairman in Enugu State.
President Tinubu, initially reluctant to concede either demand, eventually approved both — signaling the depth of his interest in consolidating political alliances in the South-East.
Political observers have long known that the APC’s strategy ahead of 2027 hinges on building a national unity bloc strong enough to withstand internal fractures and opposition coalitions. In this context, Governor Peter Mbah — a powerful technocrat-politician from Enugu State — is seen as a prized catch.
Mbah, who has faced internal strains in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reportedly entered talks with the Presidency through intermediaries over a possible defection to the ruling party. However, he presented two firm conditions before making any public move:
- The exit of Uche Nnaji as Minister of Science and Technology
- The removal of Ugochukwu Agballa as Enugu State APC Chairman
To Mbah, both men represented the core of entrenched hostilities against him in the state’s political space. Their removal, he argued, was not merely personal but essential to building a workable structure for the APC in Enugu ahead of 2027.
President Tinubu, according to top sources in Aso Rock, initially resisted the demand to remove Nnaji. The President was reportedly satisfied with the minister’s performance and did not want to appear as though he was yielding to external pressure or endorsing a witch-hunt.
But after consultations with party elders and intelligence briefings from the APC strategy unit, Tinubu reconsidered. As one insider put it:
“Mr. President understood that you don’t block the entry of a governor because of a single minister. The political mathematics was clear. Retaining Uche Nnaji could cost the party a sitting governor in a key geopolitical zone.”
When Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji was appointed Minister for Science and Technology in 2023, he was seen as one of the few South-East technocrats in Tinubu’s cabinet — a calm, polished figure meant to bridge the regional divide and inject credibility into the administration’s innovation agenda.
But behind the portfolio was a long trail of controversy. Allegations of certificate irregularities had trailed him since his nomination, with whispers from political rivals resurfacing occasionally on social media. For months, the controversy simmered beneath the surface, occasionally making headlines before fading again.
Then came the political pressure.
As negotiations between Aso Rock and Enugu intensified, the forgery allegations were “reactivated” — this time with renewed vigor and fresh documentation allegedly obtained from university records. A memo from the Vice-Chancellor of the implicated institution reportedly reached the Presidency, confirming inconsistencies in Nnaji’s academic submissions.
The memo sealed his fate.
When the story broke, the optics were simple: a minister caught in a forgery scandal resigns. But within government circles, the move was described as a calculated sacrifice — a political cleansing ritual to pave way for a bigger alliance.
One senior aide at the Villa described the situation bluntly:
“He was crucified for political convenience. The timing, the coordination, everything points to a deal. The certificate issue had been around for months, but it only became urgent when the governor’s defection talks reached a critical stage.”
The resignation immediately drew parallels with that of former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, who stepped down in 2018 after it was revealed that her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) exemption certificate was forged. Like Nnaji, Adeosun’s exit came amid rising political heat and moral scrutiny.
However, while Adeosun’s resignation was seen as a painful but dignified act of accountability, Nnaji’s case reeks of political convenience. According to multiple insiders, the minister did not intend to resign voluntarily. He was “advised” to do so to protect the party’s image and facilitate the governor’s defection.
“He was reminded about Minister Kemi’s case,” said an insider close to the APC Secretariat. “They told him, ‘Look, she left quietly and kept her dignity. Do the same and step aside.’”
Reluctantly, Nnaji complied.
Governor Peter Mbah’s maneuver was neither rash nor reactive. Political analysts have long speculated that his move toward the APC was part of a broader realignment by southern politicians sensing the collapse of old party loyalties.
For months, Mbah maintained an ambiguous posture — publicly pledging loyalty to the PDP while privately engaging key figures in the ruling party. His conditions for defection, now revealed, show how deeply he understood the Enugu political terrain.
The presence of Uche Nnaji and Ugochukwu Agballa in the APC structure posed existential threats to his entry. Both men had established grassroots control and were known for their antagonism toward Mbah’s leadership style. By securing their removal, Mbah effectively cleared the field for his smooth integration into the APC fold.
A top political scientist from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, summarized the development aptly:
“This is not just a resignation story; it’s a power realignment story. What happened in Enugu is a microcosm of how Nigerian politics functions — power flows not from ideology, but from negotiated interests.”
President Bola Tinubu’s political genius has often been his capacity to trade principle for pragmatism without losing strategic vision. The Nnaji episode underscores this characteristic once again.
To Tinubu, the equation was straightforward: one minister’s resignation for one governor’s defection — a transaction that yields national value for the APC’s consolidation efforts in the South-East.
Analysts believe the President is deep into what insiders call “the coalition period” — a critical phase of building alliances across party lines to prevent an opposition merger ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The APC’s internal think tank reportedly concluded that Governor Mbah’s defection would strengthen the party’s base in Enugu and possibly influence Anambra and Ebonyi politics, creating a regional domino effect.
For Tinubu, retaining Nnaji was no longer strategic; it was sentimental.
Alongside the minister’s resignation came whispers of a parallel shake-up — the removal of Ugochukwu Agballa, the controversial APC Chairman in Enugu State.
Agballa’s tenure had been marked by internal wrangling, factional disputes, and allegations of high-handedness. His expected removal after Thursday’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting will mark the completion of the conditions Governor Mbah demanded.
The new APC Chairman, reportedly already aware of his impending appointment, has begun consultations with local party leaders to ensure a seamless transition.
For the APC, the move signals a broader strategy to sanitize state chapters where entrenched party leaders have become liabilities to Tinubu’s 2027 strategy.
Sources within Aso Rock described the President’s decision-making process as “swift but calculated.” When the Vice-Chancellor’s memo confirming discrepancies in Nnaji’s academic record reached the Villa, it was presented as an ethical issue requiring immediate attention.
However, the same memo also served a political function — it gave Tinubu moral justification to act without appearing to bow to political pressure. Within hours, senior advisers drafted a confidential report recommending acceptance of the resignation “to preserve the integrity of the administration and enable strategic party realignment.”
The President reportedly reviewed the memo personally, nodded, and said:
“We cannot lose a governor because of a minister. Let him go.”
Chief Uche Nnaji’s resignation might dominate headlines today, but its true significance lies in what it reveals about the fluid nature of Nigerian politics. Governance and morality often walk separate paths, converging only when it serves strategic interest.
This episode demonstrates how, in the Tinubu era, loyalty is transactional, performance is negotiable, and survival is political.
A political analyst in Abuja described it succinctly:
“This is not about certificates or morality. It’s about numbers, control, and timing. Politics in Nigeria has always been about the art of the possible — not the purity of principles.”
Public reaction to the resignation has been mixed. Some Nigerians see it as a long-overdue accountability measure, while others interpret it as a convenient scapegoating exercise.
Civil society groups have called for a full investigation into the forgery allegations, insisting that mere resignation does not absolve the minister of potential criminal liability.
However, within political circles, the dominant sentiment is pragmatic acceptance. As one senior APC official told reporters:
“We are in an election cycle already. Every move is strategic. You don’t hold on to a controversy when you can exchange it for a state.”
For Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, the path ahead looks uncertain. Though his resignation letter has been submitted, sources indicate he may seek a diplomatic posting or return to private business. In Nigerian politics, a fall from grace rarely translates to permanent obscurity.
For President Tinubu and the APC, the move is just one piece in a larger political puzzle — a long game of consolidating regional influence, neutralizing internal rivals, and positioning the ruling party for dominance in 2027.
As the coalition period intensifies, more political “sacrifices” may be made. Ministers, chairmen, and advisers — no one is untouchable when the stakes are this high.
Chief Uche Nnaji’s resignation underscores a central truth of Nigerian politics: every appointment is conditional, and every allegiance is expendable.
In a system where political alliances shift like tides, even ministers can become pawns in the pursuit of larger strategic goals. His fall is both personal and symbolic — the price of one man’s ambition weighed against the calculations of a broader political empire.
As President Tinubu continues to shape his 2027 coalition, Nigeria watches once again how governance and politics intertwine — and how the line between accountability and expediency remains forever blurred.