Former technology minister Uche Nnaji, who resigned from President Bola Tinubu’s administration in 2025, following a humiliating certificate forgery scandal, has clinched the governorship ticket for the Peoples Democratic Party in Enugu.

Mr Nnaji, loyal to the Nyesom-Wike faction of the PDP, scored 7,424 votes to defeat his challenger Samson Nnamani who polled only 600 votes at the governorship primary election conducted on Monday. The election was carried out under the leadership of Austin Nwachukwu, chair of the PDP governorship election committee in Enugu.

Mr Nnaji resigned from Mr Tinubu’s administration after forgeries of his bachelor’s degree at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and National Youth Service Corps certificates were unearthed.

Peoples Gazette exclusively reported Mr Nnaji’s forged NYSC credentials and the inconsistencies in his bachelor’s degree certificate which were poorly done that spotting the duplicity required no extra dedication.

The revelations brought shame to Mr Tinubu’s administration and paved the way for Mr Nnaji’s exit amid petitions submitted at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, and a probe by the Independent and Corrupt Practices Commission.

“His resignation became inevitable the moment the court processes began to move forward,” a senior administration source told The Gazette in 2025. “The presidency wanted to avoid further embarrassment, especially since The Gazette report had already made it impossible to ignore.”

After squandering any goodwill he enjoyed from Mr Tinubu’s administration due to the forgery, Mr Nnaji quietly defected to the opposition to pursue his political ambition, especially considering his loss in the 2023 Enugu APC governorship primary.

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, who constituted a panel to look into the certificate forgery scandal, found that the former minister had indeed falsified his credentials.

Mr Nnaji unsuccessfully tried to block the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, from releasing his academic records. While the former minister was truly admitted to the institution in 1981, records of his graduation were mired in scandal.

Similarly, the NYSC said it could not account for the source of his discharge certificate.

The ex-minister, who is under an active ICPC investigation, picked up the PDP governorship nomination form for the 2027 election, without announcing his defection from the APC.

“I give this victory to the glory of God and our Enugu people, who have been oppressed in the last three years and overburdened with excessive, obnoxious taxes,” the ex-minister said in his acceptance speech.

Should Mr Nnaji win the polls, ICPC and the court might be compelled to pause prosecution given the immunity enjoyed by governors.