Six Nigerians Receive Award From President Biden Of America, Tinubu Reacts

The President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, has expressed delight with the international recognition accorded to six Nigerians for distinguishing themselves in their careers.

Naija News reports six Diaspora Nigerians were named by President Joe Biden among the 400 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in the United States.

The prestigious recognition, established by former President Bill Clinton in 1996, is the highest honour bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers.

The Nigerian honorees include Azeez Butali, Gilbert Lilly Endowed Professor of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa; Ijeoma Opara, Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Yale School of Public Health, Yale University; and Oluwatomi Akindele, Postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Others are Eno Ebong, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biology at Northeastern University; Oluwasanmi Koyejo, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University; and Abidemi Ajiboye, Executive Vice Chair of the Case School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University.

This year’s awardees, announced by President Joe Biden on January 14, 2025, are employed or funded by 14 participating United States government agencies.

Reacting to the achievement of the various Nigerians, President Tinubu, in a statement on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, congratulated the Nigerian scientists and engineers for making President Biden’s honours list.

President Tinubu in the statement, commended these trailblazing Nigerians for their remarkable achievements in science, technology and engineering.

The Nigerian leader noted that recognising these exceptional talents underscores Nigerians’ vast potential to excel both at home and on the global stage.

He also submitted that he looks forward to the honorees sharing their multidisciplinary expertise to benefit Nigeria’s development efforts under the Renewed Hope Agenda.