President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Dr Ifedayo Adetifa as the new Director General of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC).
Adetifa succeeds Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu who has been appointed as Assistant Director General of the World Health Organization WHO.
The appointment of the new DG was confirmed in a statement by Garba Shehu, President Buhari’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity on Monday in Abuja.
Ihekweazu who was appointed last week as WHO assistant Director General is expected to resume work in Germany in November.
An official letter addressed to him by WHO DG,Tedros Ghebreyesus said Ihekweazu is to assume office as the deputy in charge of Health Emergency Intelligence at the WHO.
Ihekweazu’s appointment to the WHO has been described as a great loss to Nigeria given his track record of rolling out strategies responsible for the control of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Under his supervision ,Nigeria recorded 196,000 cases with 2,552 deaths.
A physician,Dr Bonas Harry described Ihekweazu as a fine gentle man who would be greatly missed by the Nigerian Health Community and Citizens for his dedication and commitment in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Harry said the” DG’s effort helped to place Nigeria as no 4 among countries globally with strategic response plan against the pandemic.”
The Director General of the World Trade Organization ( WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala in her congratulatory message to Ihekweazu described his new appointment as a great choice but a big loss to Nigeria.
