In a confusing political twist of events, Senator Rufai Sani Hanga, who was speculated to have concluded plans to defect from the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) following a series of meetings with top figures of the ruling party, including President Tinubu, has said that he remains a member of his party.

“I still remain a member of NDC and I have not yet made any plans of Decamping out”, Senator Hanga said while speaking on a local radio programme in Kano on Tuesday.

He, however, openly stated that his party, the NDC, would not win the presidency because it lacked the acceptance and strength needed to defeat the ruling APC.

“NDC will lose Nigeria, they can’t make any impact but I’m certain they will win Kano, this I know, and as for me I still remain a member of my Party,” he said.

Senator Hanga, who has spoken on several issues relating to his relationship with Kwankwaso, explained that they still respect each other.

Speaking on how the NDC gubernatorial candidate, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, and his running mate, Mustapha Kwankwaso, emerged, he noted that “Kwankwaso sent an emissary to me through the NDC Chairman Hussaini Isa Mairiga that he was considering anointing his son, Mustapha, for governorship seat”.

He added, “I bade them farewell and also told him he (Mairiga) to tell Kwankwaso that I was ready to be his son’s campaign manager. Since then, I did not hear anything from them”.

Continuing, Hanga said, “after a few days, Aminu Abdussalam met me in Abuja and told me that Kwankwaso had made him gubernatorial candidate of the party and asked if I was ready to be his deputy. Although, I knew it was a demotion, I accepted but then I just heard that he (Kwankwaso) has made his son, Mustapha, the governor’s running mate”.

The Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) has identified inadequate funding, weak research infrastructure and equipment shortages as major obstacles to developing and integrating herbal medicine into Nigeria’s healthcare system.

The Director-General of the agency, Martins Emeje, disclosed this on Tuesday during a one-day working visit by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Udeh, to the agency’s headquarters in Lagos.

Mr Emeje said the challenges have slowed efforts to validate traditional medicines scientifically and develop locally produced herbal products that can be safely incorporated into healthcare.

The NNMDA is Nigeria’s only trans-cultural medical research agency responsible for researching, developing and promoting natural medicines derived from the country’s biodiversity.

Funding and infrastructure challenges

According to Mr Emeje, the agency lacks adequate funding to acquire critical research equipment and expand its scientific infrastructure.

He also identified low public awareness of the agency’s activities, inadequate staffing and limited opportunities for capacity development as constraints affecting its operations.

The agency said it also needs to expand its research and development facilities, including experimental medicinal plant farms across the country’s six geopolitical zones, while strengthening pre-clinical and clinical studies needed to establish the safety and effectiveness of herbal medicines.

Mr Emeje further raised concerns over what he described as unclear guidelines for the clinical evaluation of herbal medicines and their integration into Nigeria’s healthcare system.

He added that traditional medicine knowledge continues to suffer from poor public perception despite Nigeria’s rich biodiversity and abundance of medicinal plants.

Call for clinical laboratory

The agency’s director-general said one of its most urgent needs is a clinical observation laboratory to support scientific evaluation of herbal medicines.

He also requested the construction of chalets to accommodate researchers who often work beyond normal office hours.

Responding, Mr Udeh acknowledged the agency’s request and said the ministry would explore alternative financing options instead of relying solely on government budget allocations.

“The clinical observatory lab, which has been one of the major needs of the agency that’s been brought to my attention, is something that even the DG has mentioned, and we are not talking about taking the responsibility to have it done by tomorrow,” Mr Udeh said.

“We are sitting down today to innovatively identify ways of accessing funds to have it done. It mustn’t be budgeted funds. From what we are doing here, stakeholders can support in doing it. Stakeholders from the private sector can support it. We can also access some grants and other funds that we can use to make this a reality.”

The minister added that some ‘stakeholders’ had already expressed willingness to support the agency’s work.

Nigeria-India collaboration

During the visit, India’s Consul in Lagos, Kannan Chockalingam, called for stronger collaboration between Nigeria and India in traditional medicine.

He said the partnership could focus on biodiversity conservation, quality assurance, scientific validation and innovation in herbal medicine.

According to him, innovation in traditional medicine involves applying modern scientific methods to validate and standardise existing indigenous knowledge, creating opportunities for research, product development and integration into national healthcare systems.

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Seven herbal products unveiled

The minister also unveiled seven locally developed herbal products designed for the management of conditions including cancer, hepatitis, peptic ulcers, high cholesterol, hypertension and male sexual health.

He commended Mr Emeje for his leadership and pledged to engage industry stakeholders to accelerate the commercialisation of the agency’s herbal products.

“We will engage industry leaders on how to get these products into the market,” Mr Udeh said.