Babagana Umara Zulum has approved the immediate recruitment of 473 medical personnel to strengthen healthcare services across Borno State.
The Chief Medical Director of the Borno State Hospital Management Board, Abubakar Kullima, disclosed the development on Thursday in Maiduguri.
According to the CMD, the recruitment aims to improve healthcare delivery and ensure residents have better access to quality medical services across the state.
Professor Kullima explained that the newly approved workforce includes medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs), and other essential health professionals.
The recruitment also covers technical and support staff, including specialists in primary eye care and perioperative nursing.
He noted that the health workers would be deployed to newly commissioned health centres as well as general hospitals and primary healthcare facilities across the three senatorial zones of the state.
The recruitment forms part of a broader effort by the Zulum administration to strengthen the health sector. In recent months, the governor has approved special training funds for resident doctors and commissioned new medical facilities, including eye and dental hospitals, to expand access to specialised healthcare services.
Meanwhile, Governor Zulum has also directed the immediate implementation of new rural allowances to encourage medical professionals to serve in remote communities.
Under the directive, doctors posted to rural areas will receive a 100 percent rural posting allowance, while nurses working in hard-to-reach locations will receive a 40 percent allowance.
The approval, contained in a memo issued to the Hospital Management Board, is intended to attract and retain qualified healthcare workers in underserved communities where access to skilled medical personnel remains limited.
The new policy is expected to significantly boost the financial incentives for doctors who accept rural postings, acknowledging the challenging conditions and the urgent need for healthcare services outside the state capital.
