Tinubu Creates Health Tech Agency, Appoints Adigwe As Pioneer Boss
President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of the National Health Technology and Data Analytics Office (NHTDAO) and appointed Dr Obi Adigwe as the pioneer National Coordinator, Leadership Newspaper reported.
The agency will be domiciled in the Office of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare.
According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, on Friday, the NHTDAO will serve as a meta-level national platform for coordinating the country’s digital-health agenda.
It will reinforce, not replace, the existing statutory functions of relevant departments and agencies.
The statement read, “It will also harmonise and empower the public and private institutions across the health system, set the standards that connect them, and operationalise the National Digital Health Architecture, approved by the National Council on Health in November 2025.”
The National Coordinator, Dr Adigwe, as Director General of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, has leveraged science to catalyse interventions in artificial intelligence, translational research, and technology transfer.
He coordinated major projects, including the ¥300m Nanotechnology grant and the AFREXIMBank grant for Africa’s first API Training Facility. He led the roadmap development that underpinned an €18 million EU grant, the largest in Africa for the thematic area. During the last pandemic, Adigwe globally showcased African science by undertaking the world’s first analysis to debunk claims about the Covid Organics preparation.
The Office’s Steering Committee, which provides strategic direction and oversight, comprises.
