The federal government has granted the University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University approval to award degree certificates in traditional medicine practice.

The National Association of Nigerian Traditional Medicine Practitioners (NANTMP) National President, Omon Oleabhiele, confirmed the unprecedented development in the Edo State.

He said the Federal Ministry of Health had already inaugurated the body that will draw the curriculum for the syllabus in Abuja.

Following the approval granted University of Ibadan and Obafemi Alowo Universities, NANTMP is confident more institutions in the country would soon get certification to award degrees in traditional medicine practice.

Subsequently, Oleabhiele called for the immediate establishment of traditional medicine hospitals to complement orthodox medical hospitals, with patients having the right of choice for their treatment method.

The approval to grant such degrees follows decades of traditionalists lobbying government for the formal recognition and acceptance of traditional medicine.