By Damilare Adeleye
President Bola Tinubu has approved some appointments and reappointments of Board Chairpersons and Chief Executive Officers under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, in a statement released on Thursday, said the development is in furtherance of Tinubu’s determination to bring world class standards to Nigerian public health administration and to manifest his commitment to deliver affordable and quality care to all Nigerians under governance and regulatory frameworks commensurate with international best practice.
The re-appointed persons include Prof. Moji Adeyeye as Chief Executive Officer for the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Dr. Mansur Kabir as Board Chairperson.
For the National Blood Service Commission (NBSC), Dr. Saleh Yuguda was re-appointed as Chief Executive Officer, while Prof. Abba Zubairu was named as Board Chairperson. For the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) Dr. Fatima Kyari, Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Afolabi Lesi as Board Chairperson.
For Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), Pharm. Ibrahim Ahmed as CEO, Pharm. Wasilat Giwa, as Board Chairperson. For Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) Dr. Tosan Erhabor, Chief Executive Officer and Dr. Babajide Salako as Board Chairperson.
Meanwhile, Prof. Adamu G. Bakari, was reappointed as Chief Medical Director / CEO for Moddibo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola (MAUTH) and Prof. Reuben Eifediyi named as Chief Medical Director / CEO for Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua (ISTH).
“Futhermore, as part of efforts to bolster the resiliency of Nigeria’s public health surveillance and security architecture, President Bola Tinubu approved the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to assume office on February 19, 2024:
(8) Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC): Director-General / CEO: Dr. Olajide Idris
“Moreover, it is pertinent to note that President Tinubu has painstakingly considered the wealth of experience of each qualified and aforementioned Nigerian, who will be tasked with driving his Renewed Hope Agenda in the sector, some details of which include the following:
“New NCDC Director-General/CEO, Dr. Olajide Idris, received his MBBS degree from the University of Lagos’ College of Medicine, after which he obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) from the Ivy League’s Yale University in Connecticut, United States of America. He would go on to serve as the Commissioner of Health in Lagos State from 2007 to 2019, after serving as the Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Health from 1999 to 2007.
“New NBSC Chairperson, Prof. 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, Dr. 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,” Ngelale’s statement read partly.