Atiku Celebrates Six Nigerians Who Received President Biden’s Awards

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakr has congratulated diaspora Nigerians who were recipients of President Joe Biden’s award for distinguishing themselves in their careers.

Naija News reported that six Nigerians were among 400 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in the United States conferred by Biden as part of a ceremony leading to the end of his administration.

The awardees were Azeez Butali, a Gilbert Lilly Professor of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa; Ijeoma Opara, an Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Yale School of Public Health, Yale University; Dr. Oluwatomi Akindele, a researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Eno Ebong, an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biology at Northeastern University; Oluwasanmi Koyejo, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University; and Abidemi Ajiboye, an Executive Vice Chair of the Case School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University.

In a statement on Thursday, the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku, commended them for putting the name of the country on the global map.

His words: “On the 14th of January 2025, President Biden named 400 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in the United States. It is no surprise that six Nigerians stand to be counted among the honorees.

“Take a bow Azeez Butali, a Gilbert Lilly Professor of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa; Ijeoma Opara, an Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Yale School of Public Health, Yale University; Dr. Oluwatomi Akindele, a researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Eno Ebong, an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biology at Northeastern University; Oluwasanmi Koyejo, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and Abidemi Ajiboye, an Executive Vice Chair of the Case School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University.

“It is a thing of pride and joy to have scientists and engineers of Nigerian origin counted among the awardees.”