Quote from Alex bobby on February 16, 2024, 4:03 AM

President Tinubu Approves Leadership Changes in Health and Social Welfare Sector

In his ongoing commitment to elevate the standards of public health administration in Nigeria and ensure the delivery of affordable, high-quality healthcare under international best practices, President Bola Tinubu has given his approval for the appointment and reappointment of key figures in the Health and Social Welfare sector under the Federal Ministry. The following individuals will lead prominent organizations:

1. National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC):
   • Board Chairperson: Mansur Kabir
   • Chief Executive Officer: Moji Adeyeye
2. National Blood Service Commission (NBSC):
   • Board Chairperson: Abba Zubairu
   • Chief Executive Officer: Saleh Yuguda
3. Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN):
   • Board Chairperson: Afolabi Lesi
   • Chief Executive Officer: Fatima Kyari
4. Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN):
   • Board Chairperson: Wasilat Giwa
   • Chief Executive Officer: Ibrahim Ahmed
5. Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN):
   • Board Chairperson: Babajide Salako
   • Chief Executive Officer: Tosan Erhabor
6. Moddibo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola (MAUTH):
   • Chief Medical Director / CEO: Adamu G. Bakari
7. Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua (ISTH):
   • Chief Medical Director / CEO: Reuben Eifediyi

Additionally, in a move to strengthen Nigeria's public health surveillance, President Tinubu has approved the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), who will assume office on February 19, 2024:

8. Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC):
   • Director-General / CEO: Olajide Idris

Each appointee has been chosen for their wealth of experience and expertise. Notably, Olajide Idris, the new NCDC Director-General/CEO, brings significant qualifications and experience, having served as the Commissioner of Health in Lagos State from 2007 to 2019.

The President expects that this new leadership will significantly improve healthcare standards for all Nigerians. President Tinubu emphasizes the implementation of new policy frameworks to revitalize the sector under the capable leadership of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, as part of the administration's holistic approach to transforming the sector and enhancing the overall national quality of life and productivity.

READ ALSO: Nigeria: When a country fails its citizens, By Zainab Suleiman Okino New NBSC Chairperson, Abba Zubairu, PhD, has served as the Medical Director of the world-leading Mayo Clinic in the United States of America, following a long career in which he served as a Resident Doctor at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) Hospital as a Post-Doctoral Fellow, and undertook a Clinical Fellowship at the Harvard Medical School’s Transfusion Medicine Programme during which he obtained a Master’s degree in Clinical Science at the same institution.

New MDCN CEO, Fatima Kyari, PhD, is a renowned ophthalmologist and Fellow of the Nigeria Academy of Medicine (FNAMed) who obtained an MBBS degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, after which she obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) from the University of London’s School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine before she obtained a Doctorate degree in Public Health from the same institution.

The President expects that the new leadership across this critical human development sector will substantially raise the standards of healthcare service delivery for the exclusive benefit of all strata of the Nigerian population as his administration is committed to implementing a whole-of-government approach to transforming the sector to enhance the aggregate national quality of life and productivity.

Owing to the high cost of historical underperformance in the sector, the President anticipates the immediate and effective implementation of new policy frameworks to reposition the sector under the able leadership of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate.