President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Professor Idia Nibokun Ize-Iyamu as the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).
The four-year appointment, in the first instance, takes effect from August 18, 2025, and is contained in an official letter signed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate. Professor Ize-Iyamu succeeds Professor Darlington Obaseki, who has successfully completed his tenure as CMD.
Professor Idia Ize-Iyamu, a distinguished scholar and accomplished clinician, is a Professor of Orthodontics at the University of Benin’s School of Dentistry and a Consultant Orthodontist at UBTH. She has served as Head of the Department of Preventive Dentistry and, until her elevation, was Dean of the School of Dentistry.
An alumna of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital’s(LUTH) residency programme, she holds a Fellowship of the West African College of Surgeons (FWACS) and, in 2016, was awarded a prestigious Commonwealth Medical Fellowship at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. Since joining the University of Benin in 2003, she has steadily risen through the academic ranks, delivering the institution’s 262nd inaugural lecture and publishing extensively on orthodontics, craniofacial anomalies, and cleft-lip/palate care.
Beyond the lecture halls and clinic, Professor Ize-Iyamu is a strong advocate for improved oral health policies in Nigeria, consistently calling attention to the country’s shortage of orthodontists and the urgent need for more specialist training centres.
She is married to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, a notable Nigerian politician, and they are blessed with children.
Her appointment is expected to bring renewed focus to UBTH’s vision of providing world-class healthcare, fostering research excellence, and strengthening specialist training for the nation’s future medical leaders.
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