By Victor Ogunje
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Opeyemi Bamidele, has expressed confidence that President Muhammadu Buhari will grant expeditious approval for the establishment of a Federal University of Health and Medical Sciences in Ekiti State.
Bamidele also lauded the Senate under the leadership Senator Ahmad Lawan for granting the bill expeditious passage, saying such has further buttressed the fact that the present National Assembly was committed to working for Nigerians.
The senator stated this in Ado Ekiti while interacting with journalists on the passage of the bill by Senate last Wednesday.
The bill for the establishment of the university was sponsored by Bamidele, an APC stalwart, representing Ekiti Central senatorial district in the Senate.
The passage followed the presentation of the report of the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary) presented by the Chairman, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, during plenary last Wednesday.
The bill passed through the second reading on March 16, 2021, before the final legislative consideration.
Reacting to the Senate approval for the establishment of the Federal University in Iyin Ekiti, Bamidele said the bill, when assented to, would bring advance learning that will fortify the debilitating health sector in the country.
According to him, “I am happy that the Senate had passed the bill and now awaiting presidential assent, which I have no doubt that President Buhari will give his approval to.
“With the trend of things in Nigeria now, where brain-drain has been the order of the day in the health sector, there was need for us to look inwards and have a special university that will train our medical practitioners.
“Human capital development remains the best way to uplift a nation, and I have that unflagging belief and confidence that the establishment of the university will help the country in no small measure.
“Specialised university like this always has a good prognosis of training the best of experts that can turn around the country’s health sector, which is fast drifting into disarray.
“Apart from training of medical practitioners that would be injected into the system, it will also create employments for Nigerians from all the six geopolitical zones of our country.”
Bamidele lauded the Senate President, Lawan, and other members of the National Assembly for their unalloyed support leading to swift ratification of the bill.
He added that the legislative approval amplified further proved that the present ninth Senate is not a rubber-stamp, and it’s incurably committed to serve Nigerians.
