The Federal University of Technology, Owerri, has said that its appointment of Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, as a professor was partly because the school considers his tenure at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as a research and academic assignment rather than a political appointment that it is widely known to be.

John Nnabuihe, the registrar of FUTO, told Tribune newspaper on Saturday that Mr Pantami had been assessed alongside other members before being appointed. Mr Nnabuihe noted that Mr Pantami’s name was provided to the university.

“The university knows him as Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim based on the documents in his file submitted,” Mr Nnabuihe said, adding that the promotion was “based on his qualification which he merited through long years of research works.”

It was unclear how Mr Nnabuihe came up with his theory that NITDA is a research institution. The agency was created by the federal government as a regulator for data privacy in Nigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari named Mr Pantami to the role as a political appointee in 2016. The president elevated the controversial Islamic preacher to his current ministerial position after winning a second term in 2019.

As FUTO continues to scramble to save itself from the embarrassment, the Academic Staff Union of Universities says it has begun an investigation into the scam appointment, which has been contested by scholars, including Professor Farooq Kperogi.

Peoples Gazette reported that the Governor of Zamfara state, Bello Matawalle, had placed commercials in newspapers congratulating Mr Pantami on his promotion to a professor of cybersecurity.

The Gazette also discovered that it was FUTO that confirmed Mr Pantami despite him having no prior affiliation to the school.

Mr Nnabuihe argued that since Mr Pantami served as “Associate Professor” at a Saudi Arabia university before becoming the director-general of NITDA, he was worthy of FUTO’s appointment.

He added that as a university, FUTO “could decide to appoint someone as a professor.”

Mr Pantami was named among seven Readers (Associate Professors) promoted to Professor by FUTO’s governing council in August.