Towards enthroning world class standards in Nigerian public health administration and delivering affordable and quality care to Nigerians, President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment and reappointment of the following Board Chairpersons and Chief Executive Officers under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare:
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, said that the President expect that the new leadership across the critical human development sector will substantially raise the standards of healthcare service delivery for the exclusive benefit of all strata of the Nigerian population.
His administration, the statement said, is committed to implementing a whole-of-government approach to transforming the sector to enhance aggregate national quality of life and productivity.
Due to the high cost of historical underperformance in the sector, the President anticipated 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, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate.
In line with the new leadership change, Dr. Mansur Kabir is the Board Chairperson for the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), while the Chief Executive Officer is Prof. Moji Adeyeye.
For the National Blood Service Commission (NBSC), Prof. Abba Zubairu was named as the Board Chairperson:, while the Chief Executive Officer is Dr. Saleh Yuguda.
The Board Chairperson for the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) is Prof. Afolabi Lesi, while the Chief Executive Officer is Dr. Fatima Kyari
For the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), Pharm Wasilat Giwa is the Board Chairperson, while Pharm. Ibrahim Ahmed is the Chief Executive Officer.
Board Chairperson for the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) is Dr. Babajide Salako, while the Chief Executive Officer is Dr. Tosan Erhabor
Prof. Adamu G. Bakari was named as the Chief Medical Director / CEO of Moddibo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola (MAUTH).
For Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua (ISTH), the Chief Medical Director / CEO is Prof. Reuben Eifediyi
The statement noted that as part of efforts to bolster the resiliency of Nigeria's public health surveillance and security architecture, President Bola Tinubu also approved the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), who is to assume office on February 19, 2024:
The Director-General / CEO of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is Dr. Olajide Idris
The statement added "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 went 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."