Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu has expressed determination to equip health institutions in the state with state-of-the-art gadgets to enhance teaching and learning for effective manpower development.
He made the remarks while speaking at a reception organised in honour of the outgoing registrar of Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Dr. Abubakar Faruk, who retired from public service.
Governor Aliyu described the absence of modern teaching and learning equipment in health institutions as a major obstacle to achieving effective teaching in line with global best practices, hence the need to change the ugly trend.
“We cannot continue with obsolete teaching equipment in our health training institutions when technology is moving fast in the area of digital and state-of-the-art equipment.
“Improving our health sector remains one of our top priorities, as it constitutes one of our nine-point smart agenda for the state,” Governor Aliyu stated.
He added that his administration has recently recruited over 800 nurses and midwives who had been waiting for employment for the past nine years.
The governor said the move is geared towards meeting the hitherto dire need for manpower in the state’s health sector for effective service delivery.
He also praised Dr Faruk for his immense contributions to the development of the state School of Nursing when he served the state, dedicating his time to ensuring that the state’s indigenes were encouraged to pursue Nursing Sciences and Midwifery.
Governor Aliyu further applauded the contribution of the outgoing registrar for ensuring that the nation’s Nursing and Midwifery institutions did not compromise academic standards.
In his remarks, Dr Faruk Umar highlighted some of the achievements recorded by the council under his watch.
He said 147,000 Nurses and Midwives were produced in the eight years of his stewardship across the country.
Dr. Faruk added that the number of Nurses and Midwives being produced annually had also risen to 29,000 as against 9,000 before he took over the council.
According to him, the nation had recorded an additional 98 new Colleges of Nursing and Midwifery, in addition to the existing ones during his stay as the registrar.
