First UBTH female CMD, Prof Idia Ize-Iyamu, seeks other aspirants, Darlington Obaseki supports

Prof Idia Ize-Iyamu, UBTH CMD

By Editor

Aug 19, 2025

The new Chief Medical Director of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu has sought the support and collaboration of other aspirants to join her for the progress of the health institution.

DailymonitornDaily Monitorgr reports that Prof Ize-Iyamu also sought the support of the immediate past Chief Medical Director of the Hospital, Prof Darlington Obaseki.

She made the call in her inaugural speech while formally taking over from Prof Darlington Obaseki as the first female CMD of the 52-year-old Teaching Hospital on Monday, August 18, 2025, in Benin City.

"At this moment, I wish to sincerely acknowledge my colleagues, including those who also aspired to this office. Your commitment to UBTH is deeply inspiring, and I count on your cooperation and support as we labour together for the progress of our institution.

"Very importantly, I thank all those who encouraged me to step forward for this office. Those who held forth in prayers, and who so generously provided references in support of my aspiration.

"To my predecessors in this office, especially Professor Darlington Obaseki, I salute your efforts and sacrifices. Each of you built bridges that brought UBTH to where it stands today. It is now my responsibility to strengthen those bridges and to build new ones toward a future of greatness.

"Though I cannot begin to call names, yours was a role played quietly, often unseen, yet it was a decisive and potent force that has brought us to this moment. Please accept my deepest appreciation for standing firmly with me and for me.

"Let us choose unity that strengthens us and solutions that move us forward. Let titles be a call to responsibility and an invitation to serve. 

"The task before us is great, but united we are greater- and it is in this same spirit that I embrace the privilege and responsibility of this moment", she said.

Prof Ize-Iyamu promised that her administration would partner with the Federal Government’s “Renewed Hope” Agenda, with Edo State, University of Benin,  professional bodies, philanthropists, alumni, industry counterparts, and the diaspora to address the institution's problems.

She opined that UBTH is not about its buildings, its machines, but its people, such as doctors who bring skill, nurses who bring comfort, pharmacists who bring precision, laboratory scientists who bring clarity, and administrators who bring order.

"Cleaners who bring purity, students who bring curiosity, and patients who bring their trust. If you wear a UBTH badge, you are part of the cure", she added.

The Professor of Orthodontics posited that the appointment is not hers alone but to every spouse who stands faithfully behind a public servant’s calling.

She, however, appreciated the Governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo for his unwavering devotion to advancing healthcare in the dear state.

She said the governor's vision for a modern, people-centred health system is already creating an enabling environment for institutions like UBTH to thrive, noting that her appointment is also a testament to his belief in distinction and visionary leadership. 

In his farewell address, the immediate past CMD, Prof. Darlington Obaseki, described the event as historic, saying that it was the first time UBTH would witness a proper transition between substantive heads.

Obaseki described Prof Idia  Ize-Iyamu as a “history maker” for breaking barriers in the institution. 

“This morning as I came to the office, I looked at the pictures. Between 1970 and now, this is the first proper transition we are doing.

“Today I am handing over to a substantial CMD. That is historic and symbolic,.

"You are the first female CMD in the history of UBTH. You are the first dentist to be a CMD. This, I believe, is the first of many firsts. I urged the hospital community to rally behind her,” he said.