The Chief Medical Director of the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Lokoja, Dr. Abdulrahman Shehu, has reaffirmed the hospital’s commitment to partnering with Prince Abubakar Audu University (PAAU), Anyigba, to strengthen medical education, clinical training, and healthcare service delivery.
The pledge came during a courtesy and congratulatory visit to the Vice-Chancellor of PAAU, Prof. Salisu Ogbo Usman, on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at the Vice-Chancellor’s Office.
The visit was to congratulate Prof. Usman on his appointment as the university’s sixth substantive Vice-Chancellor and to commend the progress recorded by his administration since he assumed office on February 11, 2026.
Speaking during the visit, Dr. Shehu described the Vice-Chancellor as a progressive, visionary, and result-oriented administrator whose leadership had continued to inspire confidence. He thanked Prof. Usman for granting his delegation an audience despite a demanding schedule, calling it a demonstration of humility and exemplary leadership.
The Chief Medical Director said FTH was ready to provide the human and material resources needed to support the successful development of the university’s medical programmes. He assured PAAU of the hospital’s readiness to support clinical training for medical students and to offer the professional guidance required to help produce the university’s first set of medical doctors.
To formalise the collaboration, Dr. Shehu proposed the establishment of a Joint Advisory Committee made up of representatives from both institutions. The committee, he said, would interface with relevant stakeholders, coordinate joint initiatives, and ensure the partnership is successfully implemented.
He expressed confidence that the collaboration would strengthen medical education, research, and manpower development, while contributing meaningfully to the advancement of both PAAU and Kogi State.
Responding, Prof. Usman thanked Dr. Shehu and his management team for the visit and the goodwill extended to the university. He congratulated Dr. Shehu on his own appointment as the second substantive Chief Medical Director of FTH, Lokoja, and urged him to build on the achievements of his predecessors through innovation and purposeful leadership.
Prof. Usman commended Dr. Shehu’s humility and commitment to institutional partnership, describing the proposed collaboration as timely and strategic for the growth of the university’s College of Health Sciences.
He also paid tribute to the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Marietu Ohunene Tenuche, for laying a solid foundation for the College of Health Sciences — particularly the successful accreditation of the MBBS programme by the National Universities Commission (NUC), which he said had positioned the university for the successful training of medical professionals.
The Vice-Chancellor reaffirmed the university’s readiness to embrace partnerships that strengthen teaching, research, clinical training, and healthcare services, noting that such collaborations remain critical to achieving academic excellence.
Prof. Usman further expressed appreciation to the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, and the incumbent Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, for their continued support and commitment to PAAU’s growth, stability, and transformation.
