Uche Nnaji: A Victim of Politics of Bitterness

By John Akor

Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, is currently under siege. The reason is not unconnected with the allegations, as contained in a publication by Premium Times, an online news medium, that he did not graduate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, and so does not have a certificate to show for it.

Fortunately, facts on ground suggest that the allegations are no more than the vile machination of his political opponents who are increasingly desperate to clip his Olympian political profile in order for them to make any headway in Enugu state politics. By every stretch of the imagination, he is the newest victim of politics of bitterness, the reverse side of Politics Without Bitterness, the virtuous political mantra propounded by Late Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim, presidential candidate of the Great Nigerian Peoples Party, GNPP.

The minister’s opponents are obviously very formidable and resolute in their self-imposed war to bring him down by every and any means available. Sadly, they found a willing ready-made tool in the person of the Vice Chancellor of one of the country’s foremost institutions of higher learning, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He seems to have delivered on the assignment given to him by his paymasters. But that is not the end of the story.

Indeed, the manner he introduced himself as a conduit for falsehood leaves no one in any doubt that he is versed in the job of dragging political opponents through the mud for the heck of it. The good thing is that facts on ground clearly indicate Chief Nnaji has no skeleton in his cupboard.

Available documents show that Chief Nnaji gained admission to the university as an undergraduate in 1981. They also proved that he graduated in July 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology/Biochemistry with a Second Class Honours, Lower Division. As a testament of that he is listed on the institution’s Convocation brochure, said to be part of the university’s permanent archives. His status as a graduate of the university is further attested to in a duly stamped and signed letter issued in 2023 by one Mrs. I.A.S. Onyeador, on behalf of the Registrar, Dr (Mrs) Celine Ngozi Nnebulum.
The letter was issued in response to an enquiry by the People’s Gazette, an online medium, seeking to confirm that indeed the minister graduated from the university.

Despite the confirmation as contained in all the documents, another letter, purportedly written by the university, surfaced two years later. Among other claims, it averred that UNN does not have any record of the minister’s graduation. While its implications were not lost on Nigerians, it however left them wondering about what really changed, between 2023 and 2025.

By every indication, one of the things that changed is that the university, via the machination of the Vice Chancellor, decided to stand facts on their heads. This is the totality of what he did by making himself available as a ready-made political tool to brand falsehood as truth, ostensibly to satiate the demands by his pay masters on whose back he rode to become the Vice Chancellor.

A check would reveal that he is not only a card-carrying member of the now troubled People’s Democratic Party (PDP), he is also a close political associate of Governor Mbah. He was first a Commissioner in a PDP government, DG of Southeast Governor’s forum when the geopolitical zone was largely made up of PDP Government and finally a two-term secretary to the state government of PDP party that transferred power to Mbah, the current PDP Governor of Enugu State. So, his deference to the dictate of falsehood conforms with the saying that he who pays the piper, calls the tunes.

Not unexpectedly, the minister decided to counter the move by approaching the court with a view to prevailing on the institution not to tamper with or alter his academic file. While delivering its judgement on September 22, 2025 the court restrained the VC and management of the university from tampering with the minister’s academic records, followed by an order mandating the institution to release his academic transcript, concluding it with a directive that the supervising authorities must ensure compliance.

However, rather than obey the ruling, the VC opted to embark on a media trial against the minister, obviously intent on satisfying his pay master’s mandate to damage Chief Nnaji’s well-earned reputation. Yet, one question remains as large as life itself. Does it make any sense for the same individual, accused of not graduating from the UNN, to approach a court of competent jurisprudence demanding that his transcript be released without delay?

The unfolding drama in which Chief Nnaji is the unfortunate victim is not about education or integrity. It is more about the political desperation riding on the back of academic enquiry. What is more interesting is that the timing, sources and presentation of false documents are evidence of desperation. They are nothing more than campaigns to muddy the reputation of a renowned public servant, hoping it would suffice to kill his determination to uplift the life of his people. The challenge they found is that Nigerians are no fools particularly now that facts are before the courts, documents before the public, certain that the truth can no longer be buried by political propaganda.

Clearly, the war being waged against Chief Nnaji is simply not one that has the benefit of facts as its anchor. Instead, it is the result of a desire by individuals threatened by his rising profile in the state. What is obvious is that they want to distract him from the national task assigned to him by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As the man he is, he remains focused on advancing innovation, building the country’s capacity in science and technology while also making concerted efforts at restoring confidence in the country’s research-driven industrial growth.

Certainly, he will not be distracted by any attack predicated on lies or by individuals who cherish the weaponization of state institutions and deployment of media platforms as attack dogs all for political gains as is currently the case in Enugu state.