The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, passed a bill seeking to establish a Federal Medical Centre in Ejigbo, Lagos State.

The lawmaker representing Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency in Lagos State, Ganiyu Johnson, who sponsored the bill, at its second reading, said the legislation is to provide the legal framework for the administration and management of the FMC.

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 stressed that the FMC would have facilities for diagnostic, curative and rehabilitative medical services for the inhabitants of Ejigbo and its environs within and outside Lagos. “The need to increase and improve the access of Nigerians to tertiary health care facilities in Nigeria, cannot be emphasised,” he stated.

According to Johnson, the bill, when passed into law, will not only bring into being the FMC Ejigbo, but also complement the services being rendered by other health care institutions 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.”