Ondo Govt Cedes Akure Hospital to FUTA Teaching Hospital, Reviews Agriculture, Infrastructure Policies

The Ondo State Executive Council has approved the transfer of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED) Teaching Hospital complex in Akure to the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), to serve as its College of Medicine and Teaching Hospital.

The decision, taken at the council meeting presided over by Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa on Thursday, September 11, 2025, follows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval for FUTA to establish a College of Medicine and a Teaching Hospital.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Banji Ajaka, said the Akure hospital complex will be ceded to the Federal Government as FUTA’s primary medical sciences facility.

“The handover includes staff infrastructure, equipment and liabilities. All employees will be absorbed into FUTA Teaching Hospital under the Federal Government,” Ajaka said, noting that the move would strengthen healthcare delivery in the state while boosting FUTA’s ambition to become a leading centre for medical sciences in Nigeria.

In a related development, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Engr. Leye Akinola, announced that the state has adopted new measures to shield farmers from the adverse impact of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which prohibits the import of crops cultivated from deforested areas.

According to him, agroforestry practices have been approved across selected forest areas while reserves will remain protected. He explained that cocoa, cashew, oil palm and rubber farmers will be allowed to continue production under strict mapping and traceability systems.

“By December 30, 2025, any crop that cannot be traced to a mapped farm risks rejection in the EU market. To protect livelihoods, government will support farm mapping and grant farmers permits to continue operations,” Akinola said.

He added that tariffs across agricultural produce and timber value chains would also be reviewed to align Ondo with other Southwest states under the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission framework.

Also speaking, Commissioner for Information, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, disclosed that council members have been directed to nominate one road project each in their respective local government areas to enhance connectivity and impact communities directly.

“These roads are outside the 2025 budgeted projects. They are supplementary interventions designed to touch communities, not for private or partisan interests,” Ajanaku stressed.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Hamidu Takuro, said the council ratified the appointment of His Royal Highness Joseph Ilésanmí as the monarch of Sosan in Akoko South-East Local Government Area.