Association commends Tinubu over renewal of Bugaje’s NBTE appointment

Members of the Association of Provosts of Colleges of Health Technology and Nursing Sciences of Nigeria have expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for renewing the appointment of Professor Idris Bugaje as Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education.

In a statement jointly signed by the Association’s Chairman, Dr. Johnson Adebayo Ojo, and Secretary General, Mallam Adamu Ahmadu, the group attributed the renewal to Bugaje’s reforms, achievements and performance during his first five-year tenure, which began in March 2021.

The Association noted that the Federal Government’s decision reflects recognition of his contributions to strengthening the technical and vocational education sector.

It stated that the NBTE has recorded significant progress in Colleges of Health Technology and Nursing Sciences, particularly within the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) framework in recent years.

"These include the migration of all the Colleges from scholastics dominated by regimental professional training to full combination of academic technology orientation with proficiency training to enhance the competency of our products with the awards of National Diploma/Higher National Diploma in Health Technology and Nursing Science programs.

"In your first tenure, there's transformation of some of our Health and Medical Institutions to Polytechnic of Health status, introduction and onboarding of new
courses or programs in health and medical technology in line with global
employment demands and national policy on education.

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" Courses like Paramedics, Medical Store Management, Artificial Intelligence, Public Health Technology etc.
were granted full NBTE ND and HND programs with updated Curricula.
We are quite aware that, you were nominated by the Global Skills Hub, United Kingdom as one of the most 100 impactful Education Personalities in Africa and the conferment of that honour on you took place in the 4th African Education Summit held between 19th – 21st March, 2026 at the University of Professional
Studies, Accra, Ghana.

"In fact, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy did not mince words in the State House Press Release of April 1, 2026 whereby he credited some remarkable achievements to your 1st tenure as the Executive Secretary of NBTE which included the repositioning and strengthening of Nigeria's TVET ecosystem, comprehensive curriculum modernization; and review of over 100 curricula in line with global skills demands, all in consonance
with the President's Renewed Hope Agenda for education.

"No doubt, your second tenure will be another round of bright reforms and breakthroughs in Colleges of Health Technology & Nursing Sciences and TVET
education in Nigeria in general.

"As an Association, we implore you to seize this opportunity of your second term to ensure that the duo of NBTE and the Federal Ministry of Education shift ground on by exempting our Colleges of Health Technology and Nursing Sciences from the 7-year moratorium imposed on TVET institutions because our Colleges had earlier been approved and accredited by relevant professional Councils and Boards before imposition of moratorium. It's supposed to be a policy of migration to NBTE
control and Accreditation of ND/HND programs instead of classifying them as new Institutions.

"We advocate that for Colleges of Health Technology and Nursing Sciences, the 7- year moratorium should not be applicable to us as regime of total ban on accreditation but as regime of migration from Professional Councils and Boards to NBTE.

"There is no country that can ban Institutions of Health from producing
health & medical professionals for upwards of 7 years that will not witness the proliferations of quacks, quackery practices, and collapse of health manpower system.

"It equally stands the skill of promotion of brain drain and imminence of epidemics and endemic parasitic diseases.