By Ann Emumwen 

Professor (Mrs.) Idia Ize-Iyamu has formally assumed her duties as the first female Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).

Her official resumption was met with jubilant staff, who lined the entrance and hospital grounds carrying solidarity banners. 

In her address, Ize-Iyamu vowed to “make her stay very pleasant” and build upon the institution’s established strengths. 

She described her appointment as a boon not just for women, but for the broader community, noting, “Once you have a woman in the kitchen, you are sure there will be food on the table.” 

She affirmed her commitment to represent “men, women, youths, and children” and urged collective cooperation: “UBTH will be great—not just in Edo State but across the South-South, in Nigeria, Africa, and beyond.” 

In the hospital’s boardroom, outgoing CMD Professor Darlington Obaseki formally handed over leadership. He highlighted the rarity of a smooth succession to a substantive CMD—among the 12 tertiary health institutions in Nigeria whose tenures have ended, UBTH stands out as the only one to transition to a substantive successor. 

He lauded Ize-Iyamu as a “history maker,” emphasizing that she is both the first female and first dentist to lead UBTH—a milestone he believes marks just the beginning of many more to come.