By Goodluck B Ikiebe

President Bola Tinubu has reappointed the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, Prof. Moji Adeyeye for a second term.

Adeyeye’s reappointment came amid protests against the ban on the manufacturing and distribution of alcoholic beverages in sachets.

On Wednesday, protesting labour unions and distillers demanded Adeyeye’s suspension over the ban on the manufacturing and sale of alcoholic beverages in sachets.

Adeyeye has been NAFDAC DG since November 2017.

President Tinubu also named Dr. Mansur Kabir as the new Chairman of NAFDAC board.

This was as he also appointed Dr. Olajide Idris as the new Director-General for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, to replace Prof. Ifedayo Adetifa.

The decisions were disclosed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement titled ‘President Tinubu approves leadership changes in health and social welfare sector.’

According to Ngelale, 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, of the National Blood Service Commission, Prof. Afolabi Lesi and Dr. Fatima Kyari as Board Chairperson and CEO, respectively, of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and Wasilat Giwa and Ibrahim Ahmed as Board Chairperson and CEO, respectively, of 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 the Chief Medical Director of Moddibo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola, Adamawa State, and Prof. Reuben Eifediyi as CMD of the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State.

Ngelale said the appointments were “in furtherance of his (Tinubu’s) determination to bring world-class standards to Nigerian public health administration and to manifest his commitment to delivering affordable and quality care to all Nigerians under governance and regulatory frameworks commensurate with international best practice.”

Ngelale noted that the President expected 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 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 Pate,” the statement noted.