President Muhammadu Buhari and his Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, are on a collision course over the proposed prosecution of a former acting Director-General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi, Lagos State, Chima Igwe, for manipulating his educational status to exploit the system for personal gains.
The President had, in a September 7, 2021 letter to Onu, ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, to commence prosecution of Igwe.
Buhari said in the letter that Igwe was not qualified for the position of director-general and should not be considered as the substantive head of the agency.
The presidential letter, signed by Ibrahim Dikko Adamu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Operation, also urged Onu to stop interfering in the running of FIIRO and allow the board to do its job.
Igwe had been caught in a web of dirty scams after submitting a Doctor of Philosophy certificate that was later discovered to be fake.
The doctorate, which he claimed he completed at the Universite D’Abomey Calavi, Benin Republic, in 2001, is said to be non-existent.
However, The Point gathered that although, the ICPC had concluded investigations and served Igwe court papers ahead of his prosecution in Lagos, the minister was said to be against the trial.
Onu was alleged to be frustrating all legal means to ensure that Igwe is not brought to book.
“The former acting director general of FIIRO has since been charged to court and served the process about three weeks ago in Lagos,” a source at the ICPC said.
The board chairman of FIIRO, Ibrahim Gwarzo, who is said to be unhappy with the overbearing nature of the minister, is said to be contemplating quitting the position, if Igwe is not prosecuted as recommended by the President.
A source at the presidency, however, told The Point that Igwe could not evade justice, saying, “The president has never lost any anti-corruption battle. I also know that the minister will not like to incur the wrath of our President.”
“DESPITE THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE HOS CORROBORATING AN EARLIER INDICTMENT ISSUED AGAINST IGWE BY THE ICPC, ONU HAS CONTINUED TO FRUSTRATE MOVES BY THE FIIRO BOARD TO APPOINT A SUBSTANTIVE HEAD FOR THE AGENCY”
“You should know by now that Mr. President does not append his signature on any sensitive issue like this without due consultations. He has set up several independent committees to look into this case at FIIRO, and he is convinced that the former acting director-general should face the music,” the source added.
When The Point contacted the spokesperson of the ICPC, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, she said she could not tell the media what the agency was doing about Igwe.
“You don’t expect me to tell you what the ICPC is doing on the former FIIRO DG. I don’t want to continue this discussion on that matter,” she said in a harsh tone.
Efforts by The Point to get the reaction of the minister were unsuccessful. His Special Adviser, Ibiam Oguejiofo, was not also available for comments as at press time.
An investigation by the ICPC had indicted Igwe and he was demoted to the position he held more than 18 years ago, but he refused to resume at the post.
The minister, who was said to have had several face-offs with Gwarzo, had earlier ordered that he (Igwe) should be reinstated as the acting DG.
The minister was alleged to have later accused the governing board of financial misappropriation, but panels set up by the Federal Government to investigate the matter found no evidence for such.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, on December 4, 2020, while responding to correspondence from Onu for Igwe to be confirmed as director-general, ordered the Head of Service of the Federation to look into his certificate issue.
A committee was set up and several people were interviewed, including Igwe.
PhD certificate scandal
A recent report from the office of the HoS had ratified the demotion and removal of Igwe, who was indicted for certificate fraud in 2019.
The report, which is the outcome of a presidency-sanctioned investigation, also endorsed the move by the governing board of FIIRO to commence the process of appointing a substantive director-general for the agency.
It came after the ICPC also indicted Igwe and recommended that he should refund the remunerations he earned with the controversial certificate.
Igwe has been under ICPC investigation for claiming to have secured a PhD at the Universite d’Abomey Calavi, Republic of Benin, with no certificate to show for it.
He was said to have risen through the ranks in FIIRO based on a letter of attestation from the university for about 18 years, prompting some officials of the institute to petition the ICPC.
The ICPC said in a statement in February 2020 that investigation showed that Igwe actually completed the three-year programme between 1999 and 2002, and wrote his thesis.
However, the commission said he did not defend the thesis, and so could not be said to have been awarded a PhD.
It added that the university said that much in a letter to the Nigerian Mission in Benin dated January 22, 2020.
Based on the outcome of ICPC investigation, the FIIRO board suspended Igwe and demoted him to the level he was 18 years ago.
Although many within and outside FIIRO called for the dismissal and prosecution of Igwe for certificate fraud, the board only demoted him to the level he was 18 years ago.
The board also commenced the process for the appointment of a substantive director-general.
But Onu, who has been accused of showing undue interest in keeping Igwe as the director-general of FIIRO, had opposed the fresh appointment process embarked upon by the board.
In December 2020, the presidency, through Gambari, weighed in with a directive to the HoS, Folashade Yemi-Esan, to investigate the allegations against Igwe, as a follow-up to the ICPC investigation.
He wrote in the memo sent to the HoS that the President had “directed that a detailed investigation be carried out by the Head of Service on the certification of Dr Chima Cartney Igwe as Director-General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) with necessary disciplinary actions, if required.”
The memo also directed that “in the interim, Dr. (Mrs.) EA. Asagbara should take over as Overseeing Director-General of FIIRO, pending the appointment of a substantive Director-General.”
The panel set up by the HoS to investigate the matter concluded and submitted its report to the presidency through the Chief of Staff, in February.
The three-man investigative committee, headed by Babura Inuwa, in its report, dated February 8, 2021, noted that the demotion of Igwe should be upheld and that he should refund the illegal salaries obtained using the fake certificate.
“Arising from the report of the committee, the following are recommended:
“i. The placement of Dr Chima Cartney Igwe by the Governing Board of FIIRO as Chief Research Officer, CONRAISS 13, with effect from 18 July 2020 is in order and therefore it should be upheld;
“ii. The directives of the Governing Board, as well as ICPC recommendations, that Dr Chima Cartney Igwe should refund all salaries he had illegally earned from 18th July 2004 is in order and therefore it should be upheld;
“iii. Dr Igwe should submit a copy of his PhD thesis to the Institute in line with the extant regulations and practice; Dr Igwe should present his original PhD certificate No. 081 2020/UAC/EDSEA/D/SA dated 14th February 2020 to the Institute for sighting and submit a copy for record purposes in line with extant regulations and practice,” the executive summary of the report read in part.
“WHILE MANY WORKERS AND CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS CALLED FOR HIS DISMISSAL AND PROSECUTION FOR THE FRAUDULENT ACTION AND PERJURY, THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE ONLY RECOMMENDED HIS DEMOTION TO THE LEVEL HE WAS 18 YEARS AGO”
The committee emphatically stated that based on his current rank as Chief Research Officer, Igwe “is not qualified and should not be considered for the position of the substantive Director-General of FIIRO.”
The committee also recommended that the Governing Board should commence disciplinary procedures against Igwe for absence from duty without leave or permission.
The report also cited the refusal of the indicted FIIRO boss to carry out lawful instructions from superior authority by reverting to the Chief Research Officer with effect from July 18, 2020.
The investigative committee also suggested in the report that the officials who approved the evaluation of Igwe’s controversial PhD certificate be sanctioned.
“The Director (Education Support Services Department) who approved the evaluation, and the Assistant Director (Evaluation and Accreditation), who evaluated the PhD certificate in the Federal Ministry of Education, should be sanctioned for lack of diligence in the manner they handled the issue of Dr Igwe,” it stated.
It then advised Onu to allow the Governing Board of FIIRO to operate freely within the ambit of the provisions of extant regulations.
Minister’s interference
Despite the recommendations by the HoS corroborating an earlier indictment issued against Igwe by the ICPC, Onu has continued to frustrate moves by the FIIRO board to appoint a substantive head for the agency.
In a letter dated May 21, 2021, the minister had instructed the board to suspend the appointment of a substantive head for FIIRO.
The letter, signed on behalf of the minister by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Edet Akpan, curiously cited the presidential directive for an investigation into Igwe’s certificate scandal, as the basis for the FIIRO board to suspend the appointment of a new DG for the agency.
The investigation referred to by the minister had been concluded and its report submitted to the presidency in February.
“I am directed by the honourable minister to acknowledge receipt of your letter on the above subject ref. no.
FGB/6.01/43, dated April 28, 2021, and inform you that the Presidency has directed that a detailed investigation be carried out by the head of the civil service of the federation on the certification of Dr Chima Cartney Igwe as Director-General (FIIRO), with necessary disciplinary action if required.
“In view of the above, you are further requested to suspend all actions and processes on the appointment of a substantive director-general/CEO for FIIRO; pending the outcome of the investigation and subsequent directives of Mr. President on the matter,” the letter read.
Without a doctoral degree as required by law for major FIIRO positions, Igwe served in different capacities using an attestation letter from his supervisor in Universite d’Abomey Calavi, Benin Republic, dated 2002, to gain several promotions.
He had claimed that he bagged a PhD from the university in 2001.
Igwe, believed to be an ally of the minister, was appointed as acting director-general to succeed Gloria Elemo, the immediate past substantive director-general of the institute, on May 13, 2019.
The authenticity of Igwe’s PhD certificate degenerated into a ruckus in 2018 after some workers petitioned the anti-graft agency for proper investigation.
The ICPC later revealed that the degree was non-existent, which subsequently led to Igwe’s removal from the director-general’s position and demotion by the board last year.
Instead of presenting an original certificate during the ICPC investigation, he chose to depose to an affidavit of attestation issued by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, swearing to have obtained the doctorate certificate.
After the outcome of the ICPC investigation, the FIIRO’s governing board said, through the attestation, Igwe earned undeserved salaries for years.
While many workers and civil society groups called for his dismissal and prosecution for the fraudulent action and perjury, the disciplinary committee only recommended his demotion to the level he was 18 years ago. He was also suspended by the board.
After his suspension by the board, Igwe returned to the Benin Republic University in February 2020 to defend his thesis and was issued another attestation to indicate he completed the PhD.
The new attestation showed the effective date of the award of the PhD as February 2020.
But more than a year after Igwe’s indictment, the institute has yet to get a substantive director-general. Moves made by the board to appoint a new director-general has been blocked by the minister, who is said to have sympathy for Igwe.
In line with the December 2020 presidential directive, Yemisi Asagbara has been the acting DG.
The minister had reportedly averted every effort of the Ibrahim Gwarzo-led board of the institute to commence the process of appointing a substantive DG.
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