Okpebholo celebrates Edo’s first female neurosurgeon

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Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and the management of the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Benin, on Sunday celebrated Dr Ekiomado Eki-Udoko, the first female neurosurgeon in Edo and Delta states and the old Midwest Region.

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Eki-Udoko was recently certified as a neurosurgeon by the West African College of Surgeons following the successful completion of her specialist training.

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Receiving her at the Government House, Benin City, Okpebholo praised her commitment to excellence, saying her achievement reflected the resilience of Edo people to excel on the global stage.

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He assured her of the government’s support to advance her career and strengthen specialised healthcare delivery in the state.

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“The area of speciality which you have chosen is a very difficult one, and you must be a very focused person for you to achieve this height; we will support you to go further because we need more brains like you in Edo State to help us,” the governor noted.

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The hospital management, through its Medical Director, Dr Philip Ugbodaga, also expressed pride in Eki-Udoko’s achievement as a staff member, describing it as a significant milestone in the history of specialist medical practice in the region.

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In a congratulatory letter personally signed by Ugbodaga, he said the achievement was a source of pride to the hospital.

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He added, “Your feat is unparalleled and unequalled in the rare and specialised field of neurosurgery. We celebrate your remarkable achievement and, more importantly, the fact that you achieved this feat as a staff of the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Benin City.

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“We will do all that is required to enable you to deploy your skills and expertise in the management of neurosurgical cases in the hospital, serving patients from our catchment area and from other parts of Nigeria.”

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Ugbodaga said Eki-Udoko was head-hunted and recruited by the hospital’s management during the 2025 recruitment exercise as part of its strategic effort to attract highly specialised medical manpower and strengthen its capacity to provide advanced specialist services.

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He said her recruitment was significant given the growing demand for specialist care in neurosurgery, trauma and related conditions in Edo State, the South-South region and beyond.

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Eki-Udoko, while appreciating the accolades, said becoming a neurosurgeon had been a tedious journey but that she was able to achieve the feat with the support of her husband.

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She added that she intended to pursue further training in some subspecialties of neurosurgery.

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She said, “I am the First female neurosurgeon in Edo/Delta; we are seven all over the country and five of us are in practice in Nigeria.”

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