- Former NASS Speaker donates Conference Centre to LASU, rehabilitates Babs Animashaun Road
- Lagos to set up Medical University — Governor
The New Year began in Lagos State with a harvest of dividends. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, inaugurated four key infrastructure projects conceived and facilitated by the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
The Governor commissioned a three-storey 80-bed Femi Gbajabiamila General Hospital sited at Iyun in Aralile Community in Surulere. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives remodelled a decrepit Primary Health Centre on the 5,000sq meters site and turned the facility to a full fledged secondary medical infrastructure.
The hospital, which was handed over to the State Government for operation, will relieve the burdened healthcare facilities within Surulere and surrounding areas, while raising the capacity of the State’s medical services.
Sanwo-Olu also inaugurated the 1.6km Babs Animashaun Road in Surulere which was reconstructed by Gbajabiamila from single lane to dualised four-lane carriageway. The road, completed with two bridge components, will improve traffic connectivity and journey time from Suruele into neighbouring Ikate and Orile areas.
The road project was completed within 12 months and has witnessed the rainy season without incident of flooding.
Until his appointment, last June, as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila served six terms in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly, rising from floor member representing Surulere Federal Constituency 1 to become the Speaker.
The ex-lawmaker also donated an International Conference Centre to Ojo campus of the Lagos State University (LASU), just as he constructed Sam Sonibare Community Development Centre in Surulere, which has a mini stadium indoor sport auditorium, fitness centre, basketball and lawn tennis court, among others outdoor facilities.
Commissioning the projects, Sanwo-Olu described them as “legacy infrastructure” that would outlive the donor. He said the event coming at the beginning of the year testified to the progressive nature of governance in Lagos, pointing out that the development signified other positive transformation to be witnessed around infrastructural renewal in the State as in the course of the year.
The Governor said: “The series of commissioning being witnessed today is a product of collaboration between the State Government and federal legislature. Chief of Staff to Mr. President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, initiated projects and interventions which align with our own development agenda in the State. Our first stop was at LASU where we commissioned an International Conference Centre in the citadel of learning.
“We opened and handed over a strategic infrastructure called Babs Animashau-Census Road from a single two-lane to a dualised four-lane carriageway with two bridges. We have also commissioned Sam Sonibare Community Development Centre, which resonates with youths in sports and entertainment, and aligns with our administration’s objectives to drive inclusion.
“Health is a strong pillar of our development agenda in Lagos. Today, something that looked like a fallow facility has been transformed into a befitting asset for the people of Surulere by Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. This is purposeful governance working at the highest level. The purpose of government is to serve and make life meaningful. When we collaborate, we see development across areas that will benefit the people.”
At the occasion, Sanwo-Olu disclosed that Lagos Government has concluded the plan to set up a Medical University in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Health, which he said was being initiated as strategic response to scale up medical research and training, and also to stem the tide of brain drain in the health sector.
The Governor said the approval process was already underway and being fine-tuned with the National Universities Commission (NUC). The medical institution, he said, would churn out 1,500 personnel yearly to enhance capacity in medical services.
Gbajabiamila hailed the State Government for committing to the collaboration, noting that the projects spoke to his efforts to meet the yearning and expectations of his constituents.
The President’s Chief of Staff said the hospital project was initiated to raise the capacity of Lagos in attending to public health emergency. He said robust collaboration with Lagos State Government led to the acceleration of the work from the scratch to completion.
He said: “For those of us who serve in the Government, our primary objective must be to ensure people have access to quality healthcare and infrastructure that will improve their lives. Hospitals are unique venues for profound joy where we deliver babies and bring people back to life.
“A good medical facility must be where the sick and the afflicted must have the chance to be made home; to be free from pain and have an opportunity to return to their homes in better shape. That is what I want this newly constructed hospital to be; place of hope, healing and testimony.”
LASU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, thanked Gbajabiamila for the “generous gift”, noting that the facility was a unique architectural project that had enhanced the beauty of the school’s landscape.
She said: “This is the best New Year gift we have received from Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila in addition to the infrastructural renewal programme initiated on the campus by Governor Sanwo-Olu. This is an investment in the future of the campus, as the Centre will be useful for academic and administrative purposes.”
