Nigerians laud Ijeoma Akunyili’s appointment as first black Chief Medical Officer in US hospital

By Chioma Obinagwam

The first daughter of the late Dora Akunyili, Dr. Ijeoma Akunyili, has been appointed as the new Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Jersey City Medical Centre, USA.

She’s the first Black Physician to head the Jersey City Medical Centre, founded in 1882.

Confiance News gathered from the official Twitter handle of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) on Saturday.

The chairman of NiDCOM also extended warm regards to Dr. Akunyili for her feat.

“A hearty congrats to Dr Ije Dora Akunyili. We wish her the very best in her well deserved historic appointment 🙏🏿👏,” Dabiri-Erewa stated.

Corroborating, Another tweep, Keke Reginald said,”Congratulations my sister. History will be kind to your family. Yagazie! Nwannem oo.”

“Congratulations,”Teeemer tweeted.

As for Nonso, he believes greatness runs in the family.

“A lioness cannot give birth to a goat. Her late Dad, an accomplished Doctor, her late mom, one of the finest Pharmacists Nigeria has ever seen. Greatness embedded in that family,” he tweeted.

Confiance News further learnt that she currently serves as president of the Connecticut College of Emergency Physicians.

Before joining Jersey City Medical Center, Dr. Ije Akunyili was the regional director for TeamHealth in the Northeast and oversaw almost 20 emergency hospitals across Connecticut, N.Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.

Dr. Akunyili was awarded the 2019 Medical Director of the Year award by TeamHealth for her work at Waterbury Hospital, a level II trauma teaching hospital in Waterbury, Conn. While there, she served as the chair of emergency medicine.

Dr. Ijeoma is the first daughter of the late Dora Akunyili, former director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and ex-minister of information.