Healthcare: Gadzama replaces Wamako as FCT-PHCB boss

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has approved the appointment of Dr. Dan Apagu Gadzama as the substantive Executive Secretary of the FCT Primary Health Care Board (FCT PHCB).
​The announcement, released on Sunday by the Board’s Public Relations Officer, Reginald Uhegbu, marks a major leadership transition for the territory’s grassroots healthcare system.
Dr. Gadzama succeeds Dr. Ruqayya Wamako, who had been managing the board’s affairs in an acting capacity.
​With this development, Dr. Gadzama becomes only the second substantive Executive Secretary to lead the board since its inception in 2010.
​Prior to his latest appointment, Dr. Gadzama served as the FCT’s Director of Public Health.
A native of Borno State, he is widely regarded as a veteran public health physician, academic, and development worker with deep expertise in health systems management, sexual and reproductive health, and both communicable and non-communicable disease control.
​His academic and professional credentials span decades of local and international training
​He is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, where he earned his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). He also holds a Master’s in International Course for Health Development (ICHD/MPH) from the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) at Vrije University Amsterdam, Netherlands, fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College in Public Health (FMCPH) and a member of the West African College of Physicians.
​Furthermore, he is a fellow of the Royal Tropical Institute Netherlands, Japan International Cooperation/Japan Institute of Public Health, USAID’s Measure Evaluation, the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, Jos, and the Public Service Institute of Nigeria.
​In addition to his administrative roles, Dr. Gadzama is an associate Professor in the Department of Community Medicine and Public Health at the Nile University of Nigeria.
​Dr. Gadzama is intimately familiar with the inner workings of the FCT Administration, having previously held several critical leadership and operational portfolios.
​He has served as the Lead Performance Manager for the “Saving One Million Lives” (SOML) initiative, Head of Primary Health Care Monitoring and Evaluation at the FCT PHCB, and Head of Research for the board.
Furthermore, he has steered major health interventions as the Programme Manager for both the FCT Emergency Routine Immunization Coordination Centre (FERRICC) and the FCT Malaria Elimination Programme (MEP).
​On the professional front, he has led his peers as the Chairman of the FCT Chapters of both the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN) and the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN).
​The news of Dr. Gadzama’s appointment has triggered widespread optimism across the capital territory’s health sector.
Healthcare stakeholders and observers have expressed high expectations, noting that his vast field experience and administrative track record make him uniquely positioned to revitalize the FCT’s primary healthcare delivery system and drive impactful reforms at the grassroots level.