In its detailed mid-term review of President Bola Tinubu’s ministers, ThisDay Newspaper, in a report by its Saturday Editor published on May 24, 2025, named Chief Uche Nnaji, the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, among the worst-performing ministers.

 

Titled “Honest Assessment of Tinubu’s Ministers,” the report grouped ministers into three categories: The Bright Spots, Not Pulling Their Weight, and Sleeping Ministers. While top performers such as FCT Minister Nyesom Wike; Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo; Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar; Communications and Digital Economy Minister Dr. Bosun Tijani; and Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate made it to the first category, Enugu-born Uche Nnaji was labelled a Sleeping Minister.

 

ThisDay wrote:

 

“The leading figure among them is the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Geoffrey Nnaji. Nnaji has been largely absent from public discourse to the extent that many mistake Bosun Tijani for the head of the ministry. At a time Nigeria desperately needs visionary leadership to harness technology for national growth, his performance has been disappointing. Observers describe his tenure as uninspiring, lacking visibility and measurable achievements. Nnaji has remained colourless and far from motivating.”

 

 

 

The paper concluded with a warning:

 

“President Tinubu must be reminded that history favours leaders who value performance over political loyalty. Nigerians cannot afford prolonged mediocrity. A cabinet reshuffle should serve as a performance audit, not a political tool. Ministers who deliver should be retained; others, as Afrobeat star Davido puts it, who are full of ‘cho cho cho, no workings,’ should be shown the door.”

 

 

 

Despite Nnaji’s pushback—claiming the report was the handiwork of political foes—many found the criticism accurate. Nnaji’s flawed public image is compounded by his controversial academic history and prolonged absences from his Abuja office. Instead, he’s spent more time in Enugu attempting—unsuccessfully—to convince President Tinubu he could deliver the state for APC in 2027.

 

But Tinubu, a seasoned political strategist, likely knows better. The 2023 elections exposed Nnaji’s political weakness. Of the 450,969 valid votes cast in Enugu State during the presidential poll, Nnaji delivered just 4,772 votes (a meagre 1.04%) to Tinubu. In his own Nkanu West LGA, he managed only 2.11% of the votes.

 

He also lost the House of Reps and Senate seats in Enugu East and Nkanu East/Nkanu West to the PDP and LP. In essence, he couldn’t win even his polling unit, let alone the state.

 

Nnaji’s failed leadership in Enugu APC turned the party into a personal venture, with Ugo Agballa acting as his enforcer. With support from an unnamed Southeast governor, he sidelined respected APC stalwarts like Senator Ken Nnamani, ex-Governor Sullivan Chime, Dr. Ben Nwoye, the late Senator Ayogu Eze, and Hon. Eugene Odoh—causing them to retreat and watch as Nnaji’s faction crumbled at the polls. For most APC members in Enugu, his ministerial appointment was an unmerited reward for failure.

 

As APC’s 2023 gubernatorial candidate, Nnaji was again humiliated. The winner, Dr. Peter Mbah of the PDP, secured 160,895 votes; LP’s Chijioke Edeoga got 157,552; APGA’s Frank Nweke Jr. came third with 17,983 (5%), while Nnaji placed fourth with only 14,575 votes across 17 LGAs—just 4%.

 

Even in his home LGA of Nkanu West, Nnaji was routed: he polled only 1,676 votes, while Mbah got 8,382 and Edeoga 2,577.

 

Nnaji couldn’t win any seat for the APC—be it House of Assembly, Reps, Senate, or Governorship. Worse still, he couldn’t win a single ward or LGA for his party. A total disgrace.

 

In his post-election petition against Governor Mbah, Nnaji didn’t claim victory. Rather, he sought the disqualification of Mbah, Edeoga, and Nweke Jr., hoping the court would either declare him winner or order a runoff with the fringe candidates—mirroring the controversial Imo State Supreme Court Governor scenario. But he failed. The Tribunal dismissed the petition on June 20, 2023. The Court of Appeal followed suit on July 18, awarding ₦250,000 against him. His case was already dead before it reached the Supreme Court.

 

To date, Nnaji has failed to address widespread concerns over his academic and NYSC credentials. A damning Gazette Nigeria exposé revealed major inconsistencies in his records, alleging certificate forgery.

 

Excerpts from the report read:

 

“The minister’s UNN certificate, issued in December 1985, said he graduated in July 1985. This suggests that the minister mobilised for national service before officially graduating. The Gazette combed UNN’s 1985 graduate list but found no mention of Nnaji. His first name, Geoffrey, was misspelt as Geoffery on the UNN certificate—unlike the rest of his submitted credentials, including the suspicious NYSC certificate.”

 

 

 

Why hasn’t Nnaji sued The Gazette? The silence speaks volumes.

 

In the end, Uche Nnaji—a lightweight politician with heavy baggage—has nothing to offer the APC in Enugu. If he couldn’t deliver himself, what can he deliver for his party?

 

Lines penned by Okoronkwo, political analyst, Enugu.