Despite resigning as Tinubu’s minister over certificate scandal, Uche Nnaji becomes PDP guber candidate

Former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, has clinched the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket in Enugu State after promising to abolish oppressive taxes and serve only a single term in office.

A former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, has emerged as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State for the upcoming 2027 general elections. In a primary election held in Enugu on Monday, May 25, 2026, Nnaji secured a landslide victory by polling 7,424 votes to heavily defeat his closest rival, Mr. Samson Nnamani, who trailed far behind with just 600 votes. The internal party election, which was supervised and declared by the Chairman of the PDP State Gubernatorial Committee, Mr. Austin Nwachukwu, was praised by party stakeholders as an orderly and democratic exercise that effectively positions the main opposition party to recapture the state’s government house.

Delivering a fiery acceptance speech to a jubilant crowd of party faithful, Nnaji expressed profound gratitude for the decisive mandate and pledged to dedicate his campaign to rescuing Enugu residents from systemic economic hardship. He aimed a sharp critique at the current state administration’s aggressive revenue generation drive, promising that his government would completely overhaul the local fiscal policy to ensure everyday citizens are not overburdened by obnoxious taxes. The newly minted candidate lamented that landlords, hoteliers, and small-scale street hawkers are currently being choked out of business, vowing instead to establish state-sponsored social safety nets for the less privileged and embark on a massive industrialization drive to curb youth restiveness.

However, Nnaji’s triumphant political return comes heavily shadowed by dark historical clouds stemming from his turbulent tenure in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet. Just two years into his federal appointment, Nnaji was forced to ignominiously step down from his ministerial position following a high-profile investigative report by Premium Times which uncovered that he had allegedly forged the university degree and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates presented during his Senate confirmation screening. While his political opponents are already gearing up to weaponize this past integrity scandal in the courts, Nnaji sought to neutralize broader political skepticism by making a solemn transparency pledge to the electorate, declaring: “I give this victory to the glory of God and our Enugu people, who have been oppressed in the last three years and being overburdened with excessive, obnoxious taxes. Landlords are paying through their nose, hoteliers are crying, commercial motorcyclists (okada riders) are out of existence, even people hawking water pay tax. We will build industries to give our people jobs. Jim Nwobodo was the only governor in this state that built industries.” He concluded by promising to completely transform the living conditions of the state within four years, committing to serve only a single term in office if elected.

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