8th March, 2023
By Richard Elesho
The Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Lokoja, FULokoja, Professor Olayemi Akinwumi, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the conversion and upgrading of Federal Medical Centre, FMC, in the Kogi state capital for the use of the institution as a teaching hospital.
The FMC is now part of College of Health Sciences, Federal University, Lokoja, CHSFUL. It was among the three federal teaching hospitals recently established across the country.
President had on 10th February, 2023, approved the upgrade of the FMC Lokoja, to a Federal Teaching Hospital vide an act of the National Assembly, in June, 2022.
The Nigerian senate had passed the FTH Bill into law on 21st June, 2022, in furtherance of Buhari administration’s healthcare sector development plan.
Akinwumi said with the new FTHs, the Buhari administration has moved tertiary health care delivery to the front burner, making it easier for Nigerians to access tertiary health care at low cost.
He spoke at a joint press conference held with the Chief Medical Director of the new FTH Lokoja, Dr. Olatunde Oladeji Alabi, on Tuesday, to formally announce the union
Akinwumi said the Governing Council, Senate, Management and Staff of FUL, were delighted by the upgrade of the FMC.
With the development, Prof. Akinwumi said FTH Lokoja, would provide clinical training for medical and premedical students of FUL which prides itself as a Nigerian university with largest medical college, in terms of size and anticipated complement of medical academics.
“The university’s responsibility to the hospital will include the construction of Hostels, Medical Laboratory Complex and lecture auditoriums within the hospital.
“We are indeed poised to attract the best medical academics to the federal university Lokoja college of health sciences. I’m also aware of the competencies of the Consultants at the Teaching Hospital.
“The combination of these competencies and seasoned medical academics will no doubt, produce all round medical graduates that will fill the yawning gap that exists in the health sector of not only Kogi state but Nigeria,” Akinwumi said.
“There are about 80,000 registered medical practitioners on the register of medical and dental council of Nigeria (MDCN) as at May, 2022. Out of this number, about 40,000 Medical Doctors are actively practicing in Nigeria.
“By World Health Organization, WHO, standards, one Doctor is to 100 patients, but in Nigeria, it is one Doctor to more than 4,000 patients. This is grossly inadequate and unacceptable especially in a developing country like Nigeria.
“Research conducted in recent time shows that in the next 10 years, Kogi State Medical Centres and Hospitals will experience great inertia of Medical Doctors of Kogi State origin,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor noted that about 98 per cent of qualified students of Kogi origin who applied to study medicine and surgery in Nigerian universities outside the State, have often been denied admissions due to stiff competition for placement.
He therefore appealed to the rich, philanthropists and Corporate Bodies within and outside the state to donate infrastructure facilities to FULokoja to ease its burden of providing infrastructural facilities to the young growing university.