Igwe was caught in a web of dirty scams after submitting a Doctor of Philosophy certificate that was later discovered to be fake.
A fresh crisis is brewing at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi, Lagos as some top government officials in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation insisted on the reinstatement of a former boss of the agency, Chima Igwe.
President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021 ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to prosecute Igwe, for manipulation of his educational status to exploit the system for personal gains.
He is being tried at an Ikeja High Court over the matter following orders from the Presidency.
Igwe was caught in a web of dirty scams after submitting a Doctor of Philosophy certificate that was later discovered to be fake.
The doctorate that he claimed he completed at the Universite D’Abomey Calavi, Benin Republic, in 2001, was non-existent.
An investigation earlier done by ICPC indicted him and he was demoted by President Buhari to the position he held more than 18 years ago but he refused to resume the post.
However, an internal memo dated July 14, 2022, showed that Igwe had been ordered to return to the position of Director, Chemical, Fibre and Environmental Technology Department.
The memo was signed by the acting Director, Human Resources Management and Administration, L.A. Enwerem.
The move is despite his case being in court and against Buhari’s order that he should be demoted to the position he held more than 18 years ago.
Sources also told SaharaReporters that the Igwe has started attending official meetings in the agency even though the case is still in court.