Tinubu appoints John Obafunwa as NIMR Director-General

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Prof. John Oladapo Obafunwa as the new Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR).

This was contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Monday, July 22, 2024.

Obafunwa succeeds Prof. Babatunde Salako, whose tenure expires on July 23.

Ngelale noted that Obafunwa’s appointment takes effect on July 24, 2024.

The presidential spokesman quoted Tinubu as extending his gratitude to Professor Salako for his service to the nation.

According to him, the president expects the new Director-General to bring his immense wealth of experience and qualifications to bear in this role to further drive the NIMR’s objective of leading research into diseases of public health importance in Nigeria and developing structures for the dissemination of research findings while providing the enabling environment and facilities for health research and training in cooperation with the federal and state ministries of health.

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Professor Obafunwa qualified in medicine from the University of Lagos in 1980, following which he specialised in Anatomic Pathology (morphological study of diseases), graduating in May 1987.

He later sub-specialised in Forensic Pathology in Scotland (1991) and obtained a law degree from England (2004).

Obafunwa has a number of other academic qualifications and holds membership of various professional bodies in the UK, USA, and Nigeria.

The new NIMR boss had worked in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and the UK before returning to Nigeria in November 2004 to take up an appointment as Professor of Forensic Pathology at the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM).

He is a former provost of LASUCOM, Chief Medical Examiner for Lagos State, and former Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU). Before his appointment, he was the International Regional Advisor of the Royal College of Pathologists (UK) for Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Star