Certificate Forgery: Minister Uche Nnaji absent from scheduled press briefing

The Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, on Monday, refused to appear for a press conference which his office called for to address the certificate forgery scandal involving him.

But instead of the minister, his spokesperson, Robert Ngwu, alongside other officials of the ministry in Abuja, showed up in the minister’s conference room long after the 2 p.m. scheduled for the event.

PREMIUM TIMES published an investigation report on Saturday revealing that Mr Nnaji forged the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and national youth service certiifcates he presented to secure his ministerial appointment in 2023.

The minister’s office sent out Monday morning an invitation to journalists to attend a press conference, expected to address the scandal, at 2 p.m. in Abuja.

The invitation, tittled, ‘MINISTER SPEAKS,’ gave the impression that Mr Nnaji was going to personally speak to and field questions from journalists.

Based on the invitation, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Nnaji was ready to speak on this newspaper’s publication.

Journalists from various local and international media outlets operating in the country also filled the conference room designated by the minister’s media team ahead of the 2 p.m. scheduled for the meeting.

But after one and a half hours of the journalists’ wait in the conference room, the minister failed to appear.

The press briefing meeting which was initially slated for 2:00 p.m., eventually commenced at about 3:30 p.m., but was presided by the minister’s spokesperson, Mr Ngwu, alongside other officials of the ministry in Abuja.

A painstaking two-year investigation published by PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday revealed that Mr Nnaji forged the credentials he submitted to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate during his ministerial confirmation in 2023.

Allegations of certificate forgery have dogged Mr Nnaji since July 2023, when President Tinubu named him among the first batch of 28 ministerial nominees from 25 states forwarded to the Senate as part of the president’s initial cabinet list, two months after taking office on 29 May 2023.

Critics have long insisted that Mr Nnaji did not complete his university education and that the bachelor’s degree and NYSC certificate he presented to President Tinubu and the offices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the State Security Service, and the Senate were forged.

(Premium Times)