Tinubu congratulates Nigerians honoured by Biden

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President Bola Tinubu has congratulated six Nigerian scientists and engineers who were named by U.S. President Joe Biden among the recipients of the 2025 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

He said the prestigious honour was announced on January 14, 2025, and recognises outstanding individuals in the early stages of their careers for their remarkable contributions to science, technology, and engineering.

The PECASE, established by former President Bill Clinton in 1996, is the highest award given by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers at the start of their careers.

This year’s awardees are employed or funded by 14 U.S. government agencies, showcasing the global recognition of their work.

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

Other awardees 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’s Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University.

President Tinubu praised the Nigerian awardees for their exceptional accomplishments, which underscore the incredible potential of Nigerians to excel on both national and global stages.

He expressed confidence that the multidisciplinary expertise of these honorees would contribute significantly to Nigeria’s development, aligning with the objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

President Tinubu reiterated his pride in the awardees and their roles as role models for future generations of Nigerians aspiring to impact the world of science, technology, and engineering.