* Appoints Dr Obi Adigwe national coordinator

* Names 18-man steering committee to provide strategic direction and oversight for the office

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

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.

According to a release issued by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the agency will be domiciled in the Office of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare.

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.

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, include Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare (Co-chair); Mr Olaniyi Yusuf, Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (Co-chair); Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare (Alternate Co-chair); Ms Kachollom Daju, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare; Mr Idris Alubankudi Saliu, Special Adviser to the President on Technology and Digital Economy; Dr Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, National Coordinator, SWAp Coordination Office and Dr Abdu Mukhtar, National Coordinator, Presidential Initiative to Unlock Healthcare Value Chain.

Other Steering committee members are Dr Muyi Aina, Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency;

Dr Kelechi Ohiri, Director General, National Health Insurance Authority; Director, Health Planning, Research and Statistics, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare; National Information Technology Development Agency Representative; six representatives of the state Commissioners for Health, one from each of the six geopolitical zones and Hamza Buhari, stakeholder representing Industry and Community.

The president expects NHTDAO to accelerate Nigeria’s transition to a secure, interoperable and data-driven health system that improves outcomes for all citizens, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of his administration.