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) for use as its College of Medicine and Teaching Hospital.
Briefing journalists after the Council meeting presided over by Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa on Thursday, September 11, 2025, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Banji Ajaka, said the decision followed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval for FUTA to establish a College of Medicine and a Teaching Hospital.
He explained that the Akure hospital complex will be ceded to the Federal Government to serve as FUTA’s main medical sciences facility.
“The handover includes the transfer of staff, infrastructure, equipment, and liabilities. All employees will be absorbed into FUTA Teaching Hospital under the Federal Government,” Ajaka stated.
According to the Council, the move is expected to boost healthcare delivery in Ondo State while advancing FUTA’s ambition to become a leading centre for medical sciences in Nigeria.
At the same briefing, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Engr. Leye Akinola, announced new measures to protect farmers from the impact of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which bans crops cultivated from deforested areas.
He disclosed that agroforestry practices would be introduced in selected forests while preserving reserved areas. Cocoa, cashew, oil palm, and rubber farmers will continue operations 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 safeguard livelihoods, the state will support farm mapping and grant farmers permits to continue operations,” Akinola said.
The Council also approved a review of tariffs across agricultural produce and timber value chains, aligning Ondo State with other Southwest states under the DAWN Commission framework.
On his part, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, clarified that each cabinet member has been directed to nominate a road project in their respective local government areas to directly impact communities.
He stressed that the initiative is not for private or partisan interests but to ensure equitable development across the state’s 18 local government areas.
“These roads are outside the 2025 budgeted projects. They are supplementary interventions to touch communities and enhance connectivity,” Ajanaku explained.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Hamidu Takuro, announced that the Council ratified the appointment of His Royal Highness Joseph Ilésanmí as the monarch of Sosan in Akoko South-East Local Government Area.
