Premium Times journalist nominated for award for impactful reporting

PREMIUM TIMES’ investigative reporter Chinagorom Ugwu has been nominated for the 2026 Active Citizens Award.

The award is organised by CivicHive and BudgIT. They picked Mr Ugwu for the Solution Journalism Award category.

They sent a letter to Mr Ugwu on Saturday, telling him he is one of four finalists after a thorough review of public nominations.

Mr Ugwu did not apply for this award. A colleague put his name forward for it.

“I feel honoured to be shortlisted for the award. I consider it as a challenge to me to do more impactful reporting,” he said.

Sources say the colleague nominated Mr Ugwu by submitting his investigative story on the certificate forgery scandal involving the former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji.

This investigation, published in October last year, revealed that Mr Nnaji faked a degree certificate from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) and a discharge certificate from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). He submitted these to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Senate to get his ministerial position in 2023.

Both UNN and NYSC confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the certificates Mr Nnaji had were not issued by them.

In addition to this confirmation, PREMIUM TIMES also did a forensic analysis of the certificates and found mistakes in them.

The newspaper later published follow-up stories, including Mr Nnaji's admission that he did not get the degree from UNN. There was also more documentary proof showing that he did not graduate from the school.

Mr Nnaji resigned from his ministerial role three days after the investigation came out.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) then invited the former minister for questioning about the forgery claims.

But Mr Nnaji did not respond to several invitations from the ICPC.

The ICPC has now filed six forgery charges against him.

He is set to appear before Justice Abdulmalik Joyce at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday.

Reasons for the nomination

The organisers of the award explained that the Solution Journalism Award recognises journalists whose work helps communities, encourages civic participation, and brings about positive social change.

“Your nomination shows your strong commitment to helping communities, encouraging civic participation, and creating positive change,” they wrote to Mr Ugwu.

“After a thorough review, your work stood out among many inspiring nominations. We are happy to celebrate your impact with other remarkable changemakers,” the organisers added.

CivicHive and BudgIT have invited Mr Ugwu and other nominees to the Active Citizens Awards ceremony on 24 July at the Civic Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos. This is where the winners will be announced.

About the awards

CivicHive is the innovation and incubation hub of BudgIT, a civic technology group that promotes transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement using public data and technology.

Every year, BudgIT and CivicHive host the Active Citizens Awards to honour journalists, civil society groups, public institutions, and other changemakers who promote accountability, civic engagement, and democratic governance in Nigeria.

The awards have over 10 categories, including Solution Journalism, Institutional Transparency, the Oby Ezekwesili Award for Women Advocacy, Art for Activism, Disability Rights Advocacy or Empowerment, and Community Service.

The organisers say nominees come from a public nomination process and go through a multi-stage assessment by an independent panel of judges before the annual awards ceremony.