Dr Labaran Shehu is a medical doctor by training, a seasoned public health professional and administrator par excellence. He is known for his exceptional advocacy, resource mobilization and program coordination prowess. He has served meritoriously in the Ministry of Health for many years in various capacities and has headed various thematic units of the TB programme. In 2012, he was appointed Principal of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Training Centre (NTBLTC), the training arm of the programme and a referral hospital for TB, TB/HIV, MDR-TB and Leprosy in Saye, Zaria,
a position he held until his recent appointment.

Under his stewardship, the training centre witnessed a remarkable structural upgrade including the building of a brand new National TB Reference Laboratory which has been upgraded to a centre of excellence and the human resource capacity increased from 180 staff in 2012, to 1,550 technical and non-technical staff by 2023, the employed staff include health professionals of different specializations, rendering various services at the Training Centre and Hospital in Saye Zaria.