By SALIF ATOJOKO

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

According to a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s spokesman, on Monday, Obafunwa will succeed Prof. Babatunde Salako, whose tenure expires on July 23.

The appointment takes effect from July 24.

“President Tinubu extends his gratitude to Professor Salako for his service to the nation,” said the statement.

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.

He also expects him to develop 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.

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).

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

He 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). (NAN)