The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), Professor Martins Ochubiojo Emeje, has won the Leadership Newspapers Public Service Person of the Year Award 2026.
His emergence as the award recipient was based on his numerous innovations in natural medicine and his pioneering role in Nanomedicine in Nigeria.
Prof. Emeje was announced in the Leadership Newspapers of Tuesday, 1 September, among other prominent Nigerians, blazing the trail in their areas of endeavours.
Other Persons of the Year are, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, chairman, THISDAY Group and founder of ARISE News; Abdulsamad Rabiu, chairman, BUA Group; Politician of the Year: Senator Abdul’Aziz Abubakar. Governors of the Year 2026 include, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, Governor of Plateau State; Alex Chioma Otti of Abia State; Agbu Kefas, Taraba State; Comrade Nasri Idris, of Kebbi State, among others.
As a trained pharmacist, his exceptional performance in the field of natural medicine has earned him several international and national recognitions.
In 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) appointed him as a member and the first African co-chair of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Traditional Medicine. The group advises WHO on the strategic direction for traditional, complementary and integrated medicine (TCIM) at the global level.
The appointment was a recognition not only of Emeje as an individual but also of the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), which he heads as the Chief Executive Officer, as well as Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Emeje studied Pharmacy at the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and later pursued his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. His PhD dissertation was nominated as the best dissertation for that year.
Early in the year, he reached the pinnacle of his academic career with his induction as a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science (FAS). He is also a Fellow of other professional associations, including the African Academy of Sciences (FAAS), the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy (NAPharm), and the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (FPSN).
Emeje was also a Raman Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India.
He was the founder of the Nanomedical Centre in Nigeria. The facility applies nanotechnology in medicine, using extremely small materials and devices to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases. The professor is an innovator with 10 patents and more than 100 internationally recognised academic papers.
Emeje is an expert in drug development, translational research and regulatory science. He has also proved his mettle as an accomplished scientist in neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), pharmaceutical products and clinical trials.
As an innovator, he is well known for introducing new research laboratory practices and developing university programmes. The new research centre for Nanomedicine he established at the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) has remained a facility of reference, even by international standards.
The quintessential pharmacist led medical outreaches, including free screening and treatment, for more than 20,000 inhabitants of Idu, Gwagwa, Karmo, Pape, Oshafa and Kuje in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. He also developed a new stable liquid oral dosage form of paediatric furosemide for use at the National Hospital, Abuja, between 2006 and 2008. This was a pro bono compounding of an extemporaneous preparation that was not available in Nigeria at the time for children.
At the University of Uyo, he played a key role in procuring equipment to enhance researchers’ capacity and in engaging stakeholders, including policymakers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as collaborators and student mentors.
He is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles and 25 book chapters and books.
Emeje served as a Principal Investigator on the Large-scale Use of Antibiotics in Livestock in Nigeria and Its Effect on Antimicrobial Resistance and Human Health, an assignment by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The National Council on Health (NCH) unanimously commended and adopted the report for national replication.
Emeje is also active in efforts by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to restore sanity to a sector so essential to Nigerians. He was chairman of the NAFDAC subcommittee that developed guidelines for the regulation of herbal medicines in Nigeria and a member of the NAFDAC Expert Committee on Herbal Medicines.
The committee developed, for NAFDAC’s consideration, a robust guideline for the regulation of herbal medicines and a memorandum to the Federal Executive Council on the need for a policy on bromate in bread in Nigeria. He is also a member of the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Steering Committee for the Development of a Nanotechnology Policy.
Presently, he is a member of the World Health Organisation Expert Advisory Committee on Target Product Profile for Snake Envenoming. The role involves identifying and developing necessary public-interest WHO Target Product Profiles (TPPs) for snake antivenom products targeting priority snakebite-endemic regions of the world.
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