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…solicit staff, stakeholders’ support
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Ministers of Education and Health, Prof. Tahir Mamman and Dr. Ali Pate, respectively, formerly resume duty at their various ministries shortly after they were sworn-in by the President, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, at the State House, Abuja.
Ministers of State for both ministries, Yusuf Tanko Sununu (Education) and Tunji Alausa (Health) also resumed alongside the Ministers on Monday after they were also sworn-in at the State House, Abuja.
At the Ministry of Education, the Permanent Secretary, David Adejoh, alongside Directors of the Ministry as well as Heads of Agencies in the Ministry welcomed the Ministers amidst cheers from the staff and other visitors at the headquarters of the Ministry at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja.
The Permanent Secretary pledged the support and loyalty of the staff and management of the Ministry to the agenda of the Ministers for the education sector in Nigeria in the next four years.
The Minister, Prof. Tahir, in his remarks, appreciated the rousing welcome he received and told the Ministry officials and management that there’s huge task ahead in rebuilding the education sector, and solicited their support and that of all the stakeholders in the education for the growth and development of the education sector.
He said: “I need your support and cooperation to the government achieve its desire in the education sector. For me, I work like a brick layer who lay block one after another, and watch the structure grow through his daily contribution. I am also a good rewarder of hardwork, hence I will give reward where necessary and punishment where necessary also.”
Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Tanko Sununu, in his remarks, described education sector as a place of his desire. “I had wanted to be a teacher early in life but that couldn’t happen as expected. But I am happy to be here because it will give me the opportunity to contribute greatly to the growth and development of the education sector in Nigeria.”
At the ministry of health, the Minister, Dr. Ali Pate, said he was happy to be back in the ministry several years after he left the Ministry as Minister of State to serve in other areas.
He promised to initiate programmes and policies that would herald improved health care service delivery to Nigerians, thus contributing to the Universal Health Coverage (UHC). “We will reverse medical tourism, improve health outcomes. There is a gap in health outcomes that need to be improved.
“When you fly from Addis Ababa to India you see a lot of people going for medical tourism and it is not a thing we in the health sector should rest on our oars and see as normal. We should do something about it and improve our health outcomes.
“It’s important that we deal with the issues of governance to improve the governance of health. Federal government, States and Local Government other actors would work together, including those who may be differently abled in the construct of health policy and implementation.”
Minister of State for Health, Dr. Tunji Alausa, promised to promote harmonious working relationship with Prof. Pate to ensure that Nigerians begin to appreciate and enjoy quality healthcare service delivery here in Nigeria.
“Nigerians deserve basic, comprehensive, international, acceptable level of health care, and we will start thinking of healthcare as a human right issue. Lack of basic healthcare to any Nigerian from now on will be considered as a violation of the human right of that Nigerian and we are going to latch on the staff of the ministry to ensure that we deliver,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Kachollom Daju, told the Ministers that the statutory mandate and core function of the ministry was to ensure the development and implementation of national health, collaborate with states and local government and provide specialized healthcare services amongst others.
“Everything we do at the Ministry of Health does is guided by the National Health Act 2014. The Acts spelt out the functions, emphasized the ministry’s role in health policy, resource allocation and health service delivery.”
