Former Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has stated that possessing a secondary school certificate is sufficient to contest elections or hold political office in Nigeria.
Sani made this assertion on Monday, in response to an investigative report by Premium Times exposing discrepancies in the academic records of the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Uche Nnaji.
According to the report, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) disowned the Bachelor of Science degree Nnaji claimed to have obtained from the institution, stating he did not complete his studies and was never issued a certificate.
Court documents cited in the report showed that Nnaji himself admitted to not receiving a degree from the university.
The minister has since filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against several parties, including the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), the UNN Vice-Chancellor, and others, demanding the release of his academic transcript.
The court granted three of Nnaji’s requests, including an order compelling the university to release his transcript, but declined to issue an injunction against the defendants. The case has been adjourned to October 6, 2025, for further hearing.
Reacting to the development via his X (formerly Twitter) account, Sani warned politicians against falsifying academic qualifications.
“All you need to contest elections or for political appointment is a secondary school certificate,” he wrote.
“There’s no way in politics anyone can claim an unearned qualification without opponents uncovering it. Some troubles are unnecessarily self-inflicted.”
