Mohammadu Buhari Appoints Ogbobe As PRODA Director General
Eighteen months after the suspension and eventual retirement of Engr. (Dr.) Charles Agulanna as the Director General of Projects Development Institute (PRODA), Enugu, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Engr. (Dr.) Peter Okwudilichukwu Ogbobe as the new substantive Chief Executive for the premier research and development agency.
This puts to rest the musical chair saga that has witnessed four key personnel of PRODA occupying the position in acting capacity during the interregnum. R & D WATCH can report exclusively that the letter conveying Mr. President’s approval, which was signed by the Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim A. Gambari, has been delivered to the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (FMSTI), PRODA’s supervising ministry.
The three-paragraph letter approving the appointment of Dr. Ogbobe, 53, gives him a five-year non-renewable tenure in line with the Conditions of Service for Research and Development Agencies, Institutes and Colleges (COS 2019), as approved by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on 7th November 2020.
Until his appointment, Ogbobe was Director, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), one of Nigeria’s largest research institutes with Technology Incubation Centres (TICs) spread across virtually every state of the federation.
He started his career as a researcher in 1996 with Federal Institute for Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) before transferring his service to NBTI in 1999, rising through the ranks from the position of Senior Scientific Officer until he became a Director in 2016. During the period, he managed the TICs at Nnewi in Enugu State (1999 to 2012) and Enugu (2012 to 2016), posting superlative performance at both centres.
He took a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1993, a master’s in mechanical/production from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, in 2002 and Ph.D in mechatronics engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology, China, in 2011. Between November 2020 when former Director General, Dr. Agulanna, was suspended and now, the following management members have occupied the Chief Executive’s seat in overseeing capacity:
- PRODA’s Director of Engineering, Dr. Edwin Oriaku;
- Head of Department, Industrial Promotions, Information and Documentations Department (IPID), Nathan Abia-Bassey,
- Director, Electrical Production and Electronics Department, Dr. Fabian Okonkwo; and
- Director, Ceramics Production Department, Dr. (Mrs.) Arit Etukudoh.
Reacting to the development, the Secretary General of the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI), Dr. Theophilus Ndubuaku, commended the process of appointing the new Chief Executive.
“As a trade union that insists on due process, ASURI cannot stop giving kudos to the immediate past Hon. Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, for playing according to the rules, and the Science, Technology and Innovation family and, indeed, the entire Research and Development Institutes (RDI) sector will not forget him,” he said.
Ndubuaku added that going by the antecedents of Ogbobe, PRODA which, according to him has been embroiled in confusion and bad news, will once again be returned to a path of progress.
By Toye Fawole
