- Heat wave: NiMet Director asks Nigerians to stay hydrated, reduce outdoor activities
President Bola Tinubu has named Dr. Mansur Kabir as the new Chairman of the board of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control and reappointed its Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Moji Adeyeye.
He also appointed a new Director-General for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Olajide Idris, who replaced Prof. Ifedayo Adetifa.
Idris is to assume office on February 19, 2024.
Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, announced the appointments in a statement on Thursday.
The President approved the appointment and reappointment of board chairpersons and Chief Executive Officers for eight agencies under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
They include Prof. Abba Zubairu and Dr. Saleh Yuguda as board chairperson and CEO, respectively for the National Blood Service Commission; Prof. Afolabi Lesi and Dr. Fatima Kyari as board chairperson and CEO, respectively for the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria; Wasilat Giwa and Ibrahim Ahmed as board chairperson and CEO, respectively for the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria and Dr. Babajide Salako and Dr. Tosan Erhabor as Board Chairperson and CEO, respectively, of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria.
He also appointed Prof. Adamu Bakari as Chief Medical Director of Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola, Adamawa State, and Prof. Reuben Eifediyi as CMD of the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State.
The appointments are “in furtherance of his 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,” said Ngelale.
New NCDC Chief, Idris, received his MBBS degree from the University of Lagos’ College of Medicine, after which he obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health from the Ivy League’s Yale University in Connecticut, United States of America.
He served as the Commissioner for 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.
The New NBSC Chairperson, Prof. Abba Zubairu, has served as the Medical Director of the 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 Hospital as a Post-Doctoral Fellow.
He 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.
The New MDCN CEO, Kyari, is an ophthalmologist and Fellow of the Nigeria Academy of Medicine who obtained an MBBS degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, after which she obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of London’s School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She also obtained a Doctorate in Public Health from the same institution.
Ngelale noted that the President expects the new leadership to “substantially raise the standards of healthcare service delivery for the exclusive benefit of all strata of the Nigerian population.”
Owing to the high cost of historical underperformance in the health 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, Dr. Muhammad Pate,” the statement read.
Tinubu said the changes were in furtherance of his determination to bring world-class standards to Nigerian public health administration.
Heat wave: NiMet Director asks Nigerians to stay hydrated, reduce outdoor activities
Meanwhile, the Director, Weather Forecast, Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Prof. Vincent Weli, has advised Nigerians to stay hydrated as part of strategies to survive during the period of excessive heat.
Weli stated in an interview on Thursday that Nigerians need to also avoid outdoor activities, and that the government needs to declare a state of emergency in states experiencing extreme heat.
Weli said, “For those states that are affected, there is a need for a state of emergency to be declared so that people can stay out of work during this period, especially when the sun is very high.
“With high temperatures, cognitive development and productivity will be affected. There’ll be a loss of concentration. And so within this period of 12, 1, 2, and 3, people should be excused from duty. People should not work under the sun within the time period. Everyone who is vulnerable should not expose themselves to the sun.”
Weli further advised that people should stay hydrated, find shelter in green areas, and stop activities that will make them lose a lot of water.
“There should be a reduction in outdoor activities so that you don’t lose much water. A lot of people are going to the gym to work out and sweat. A lot of those activities should be reduced because the body system needs water. If you must go to the gym, you must provide enough water to replenish the system,” he said.
In a weather and climate update posted on its official X handle on Wednesday, NiMET said that the excessive heat being experienced in the country presently would remain for a while.
Nimet on Tuesday also disclosed that air temperatures hit 41°C over the North and 39°C over the South, with model projections indicating temperatures to remain high in the coming days.
