Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has stated that a secondary school certificate is sufficient for anyone seeking to contest elections or hold political office in Nigeria.
Sani made this remark on Monday in reaction to an investigative report by Premium Times, which revealed that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), disowned a Bachelor of Science certificate allegedly held by Uche Nnaji, Nigeria’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.
According to court filings before Justice Hauwa Yilwa of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Nnaji admitted that UNN never issued him a degree certificate, though he requested the release of his academic transcript. The court granted that request but declined to stop the defendants — which included the Minister of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC), UNN, and its top officials — from taking further action. The case was adjourned to October 6 for continuation.
Commenting on the controversy in a post via his X account, Shehu Sani cautioned politicians against making false academic claims.
“All you need to contest elections or for political appointment is a secondary school certificate. There is no way in the realm of politics one can claim any unearned qualifications without his or her political opponents digging into the matter. Some troubles are unnecessarily self-inflicted,” Sani wrote.
