THE Lagos State Government, under the leadership of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, has announced the conclusion of plans by the State to set up a special University that will focus on Health and Medicine.
According to media reports, the University, which the Governor said was a product of interactions with the Federal Ministry of Health and the National University Commission (NUC), will be started this year to solve the twin problems of brain drain and inadequate infrastructure in the health sector.
The Governor, while speaking at the commissioning of the newly delivered Femi Gbajabiamila General Hospital in Surulere, an initiative of former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, also used the occasion to charge other legislators in the State to emulate the former member representing Surulere Federal constituency.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the proposed Lagos State Medical University is his administration’s way of keying into the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu towards achieving a one trillion dollar economy in the next six years.
In his words: “The Lagos State Government will be setting up, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the National University Commission, another University, that we call Lagos State Medical University before this year. This is a strategic intervention for us. This is a strategic moment for us.”
Sanwo-Olu noted that the initiative is aimed at significantly increasing the production of healthcare workers throughout the year, adding that Lagos State is poised as a model and the goal is to extend the initiative nationwide to tackle the persistent issue of medical migration.
According to him, the launch of the medical university is part of a comprehensive set of initiatives planned by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa.
