A school-leaving examination result, reportedly belonging to Nicholas Ukachukwu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the forthcoming Anambra governorship election, has surfaced online, stirring controversy and raising doubts about his academic competence to govern.
The document, said to be his May/June 1986 General Certificate of Education (GCE) result from Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha, indicates that Ukachukwu, popularly known as “Ikukuoma,” failed three critical subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
According to the document posted by human rights activist and lawyer, Prof. Chidi Odunkalu, on his X handle on Monday, Ukachukwu recorded an F9 in English Language, a fail in Mathematics, and another fail in Economics. He managed only passes in Igbo Language, Bible Knowledge, Biology, and Commerce, with a single credit in Chemistry.
The revelation has ignited heated debates on social media, where critics lampooned the APC for presenting candidates with questionable educational backgrounds.
Meanwhile, the emergence of a purported 1986 GCE result belonging to Ukachukwu has led critics to question Ukachukwu’s intellectual preparedness for executive leadership.
While Ukachukwu has not publicly confirmed or denied the authenticity of the result, the controversy has reignited longstanding concerns about transparency in Nigeria’s political vetting process.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier published candidates’ academic records for public scrutiny, in line with the Electoral Act, but no formal challenge had been filed against Ukachukwu’s credentials at the time of reporting.
Ukachukwu’s case echoes similar controversies surrounding high-profile politicians. Most notably, President Bola Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University were the subject of intense scrutiny during the 2023 presidential election.
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai recently admitted in a BBC interview that political leaders were aware of the discrepancies but chose to support Tinubu regardless, hoping he would replicate his success in Lagos at the national level.
In the interview, El-Rufai—who has since defected from the APC and become a vocal critic of Tinubu’s administration—admitted that despite the doubts, he and other political figures supported Tinubu.
“What pains me is that the government we supported and had confidence in would do well because we saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges,” he said.
“We all knew about his issues in Chicago, but we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, let’s support him. However, he failed.”
