 Nwachukwu held the position of Military Governor of Imo State, where he moved Imo State University (now Abia State University) in Uturu to its permanent site.From 1986 to 1987 he was Minister for Employment, Labour and Productivity, where he founded the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to alleviate the problems of unemployment, especially graduate unemployment.Nwachukwu was Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 1987 to December 1989, when he was replaced by Rilwanu Lukman, returning to a field military command position.