Buhari appoints Jummai Tutuwa as FIIRO DG — two years after Igwe’s certificate scandal

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Jummai Tutuwa as the substantive director-general of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Lagos (FIIRO), with effect from May 10, 2022.

Tutuwa takes over from Agnes Asagbra, the acting director-general, who was appointed in February 2020.

Her appointment was announced in a statement issued by the ministry of science, technology and innovation.

According to the statement, Tutuwa was the director in charge of the biotechnology centre at the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Jalingo, Taraba state.

The development comes two years after Asagbra took over as acting DG of FIIRO following the dismissal of Chima Igwe who has been involved in a certificate scandal.

Ogbonnaya Onu, minister of science, technology and innovation, had appointed Igwe as the acting DG in 2019 when the position was vacant after Gloria Elemo, the former occupant, retired.

The institute was embroiled in a controversy over the PhD of the former acting DG Igwe who had said he obtained a PhD from the Universite d’Abomey-Calavi, Benin Republic, but he did not have a certificate to show for it.

TheCable had reported how Igwe failed to present his PhD certificate 17 years after submitting a letter of attestation from the university. The former acting DG used the attestation letter to gain promotion up to directorate level of the institute.

Igwe is being tried at the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over certificate forgery.

FIIRO was created to assist in accelerating the industrialisation of the Nigerian economy through the utilisation of the country’s raw materials and upgrading indigenous production technologies.