TODAY, the House of Representatives approved a bill which would permit the establishment of a Federal Medical Center in Ejigbo, Lagos State.
At its second reading, the bill’s sponsor and representative for Lagos State’s Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency, Ganiyu Johnson, stated that the legislation’s purpose is to establish the legal framework for the FMC’s management and administration.
Johnson said, “This bill is borne out of a desire to situate a Federal Medical Centre in Ejigbo, to service the health needs of the residents of Ejigbo and environs and to compliment the services being provided by other health institutions in Lagos State.
“The bill seeks to provide the legal framework for the establishment of the centre, provide for the day-to-day administration of the centre, ensure that the centre runs in conformity with international best practice, provide health care services to residents of Ejigbo and its environs, and put in place the procedure for the appointment of the staff of the centre.”
The lawmaker emphasized that Ejigbo and its environs residents both inside and outside of Lagos would have access to facilities for diagnostic, curative, and rehabilitative medical services through the FMC.
“The need to increase and improve the access of Nigerians to tertiary health care facilities in Nigeria, cannot be emphasised,” he stated.
When the bill becomes law, Johnson asserts that it will not only establish the FMC Ejigbo but also enhance the services offered by other medical facilities in Lagos.
“This will in turn increase the access of Nigerians to health care,” he noted.
The lawmaker further noted that the hospital would bring the dividends of democracy close to his constituents, “on whose mandate I stand to speak on the floor of this hallowed chambers.”
