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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
A Nigerian, Dr Olusimbo Ige, has been appointed as the Commissioner in charge of Department of Public Health, in Chicago, United States, becoming the first black female to occupy such a position.
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), disclosed this in a congratulatory message.
In the congratulatory message, Dabiri-Erewa described Ige’s milestone as “extraordinary.”
“History made! Congrats to the first black woman in the History of Chicago Dept. of Public Health to be appointed as Commissioner,” she said.
Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, NiDCOM’s spokesperson, said Ige’s appointment has once again confirmed that Nigerians in the diaspora are excelling and impacting positively wherever they find themselves.
The NiDCOM boss urged Ige to live up to expectations while motivating other young Nigerian professionals to also be good ambassadors of the country in their chosen careers.
Ige’s appointment was sequel to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s approval following the dismissal of Dr Allison Arwady, a former Commissioner at the Chicago Department of Public Health in the United States.
Ige was previously a managing director of programmes at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a New Jersey-based non-profit public health organization.