President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s minister, Geoffrey Nnaji has been accused of forging the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate. A report by Peoples Gazette which uncovered a fraudulent act allegedly perpetrated by the minister also implicated the State Security Service (SSS) in a shocking cover-up of crime.
Recall that Geoffrey Nnaji was confirmed as minister from Enugu State on August 7, 2023, alongside 44 other cabinet members, following their nomination by the Senate on July 7, 2023. He was subsequently appointed to head the newly established Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.
The recent report exposed that the State Security Service (SSS) allegedly helped conceal the certificate forgery. The certificate of national service is given to young graduates who have successfully undergone the NYSC program. It has been revealed that shortly after Tinubu picked Geoffrey Nnaji to serve on his cabinet, as tradition demands, the SSS sought to verify his national service certificate with the federal institution that purportedly awarded it, the NYSC.
As per protocol, the SSS was obligated to notify the presidency and relevant bodies, including the Nigerian Senate, upon finding out that Geoffrey Nnaji’s certificate was fraudulent. However, the SSS, it is alleged chose to conceal the forgery and cleared Nnaji’s nomination.
The certificate, as reported by Peoples Gazette, shows chronological and calligraphic errors, indicating a duration of 13 months, instead of the standard one year. The document also bears the signature of Animashaun Braimoh, who was not appointed to lead the NYSC until 1988, whereas the certificate was supposedly issued in 1986.
Findings exposed that all certificates issued in 1986 were signed by Etuk Akpan, who was appointed to lead the NYSC from January 1984 to December 1987. It is also alleged that NYSC confirmed that Nnaji’s certificate is not in their records and asked him to provide evidence of his participation in the youth service.
Despite multiple requests, Nnaji has avoided commenting on the matter. Officials said the minister ignored all invitations sent to him directly and to his aides. The admission by the NYSC confirmed earlier claims by sources within the SSS that top officials had verified the falsity of Nnaji’s certificate, yet deliberately chose to clear him for Senate confirmation and actively assist in concealing the forgery.
“They said their duty was to clear nominees of the president and not to second-guess the judgment of the commander-in-chief,” a source revealed.
“My principals failed to recognise the reason the service usually gets asked to clear nominees for the president.” The report also alleges that the minister’s degree certificate from the University of Nigeria also shows discrepancies, with his name misspelt and a chronological mismatch between his graduation date and NYSC mobilization.
Nnaji’s first name, Geoffrey, was reportedly spelt incorrectly as Geoffery on his UNN certificate. As a result, Nnaji reportedly listed his high school certificate as his highest educational attainment in his 2023 governorship election bid in Enugu State, omitting his allegedly fraudulent university credentials and NYSC certificate.
This is not the first time a sitting minister has been accused of forging the NYSC certificate. In 2019, Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s finance minister under ex-president Muhammadu Buhari resigned her position over claims of certificate forgery.
Premium Times in July 2018 reported that the minister had forged her NYSC certificate. The minister who held the portfolio since 2015 failed to respond to the allegations while the government also remained mute on the issue.
