Spokesperson for Uche Nnaji, Nigeria’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Robert Ngwu, has accused the University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, of tampering with and manipulating the academic files of the minister.
Ngwu made this allegation on Tuesday, while responding to questions in an interview on ‘The Morning Brief’, a programme on Channels Television,
He further alleged that the UNN was playing politics with his principal’s academic records.
“He didn’t ask the institution not to touch his academic records. He said they should not tamper or manipulate because there was information about what we saw online, where things from a personal student’s file were released online. That means somebody is deliberately doing that.
“So we gathered from a good authority that some manipulations were going on. The minister sought the protection of the court and they should release his transcript.
“You have an Acting VC who is a card-carrying member of the PDP. Under normal circumstances, he is not supposed to be a VC. On the other hand, you have a VC who, for decades, puts on a robe as a politician. And the minister was jittery because it is a legal politics, and you know how legal politics are.
“In Enugu, PDP has found a way to remain in power for the last 26 years because they don’t want competition during elections, and they go after whoever will challenge them, discredit them, and find a way to make them have no party to compete under.
“So, the issue was that the school stop tampering and manipulating his academic files. It is basically to release his transcript. In May, he applied for his transcript and paid for it, and it was not released,” he said.
Ngwu added that during the last court session on Monday, Nnaji had sought the protection of the court on several requests.
The allegation comes as Nnaji is being accused of certificate forgery in 2023 following his political appointment.
The Minister, who is currently embroiled in a court case over the matter, told Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court on Monday, that the institution was holding onto his academic transcript.
Nnaji insisted that having bagged a BSc. degree in Microbiology/Biochemistry with second class honours (lower division) in 1985, the university had no right to continue to hold back his academic laurels.
Alleged certificate forgery: UNN manipulating Nnaji’s academic files — Spokesman