There seems to be a clash of interest in the bid for the siting of a Federal Medical Centre in Osun State.
OSUN DEFENDER reports that the clash is in the sponsorship of two bills for the establishment of the federal government-owned tertiary health facility in Osogbo and Ikire.
While that of Ikire was sponsored by the Deputy Minority of the 10th Senate, Senator Lere Oyewumi, the one proposing that the Medical Centre be sited in Osogbo was put before the upper legislative chamber by Senator Ajibola Basiru (Osun Central), the spokesperson of the 9th Senate in 2021.
The bill which scaled first reading at the floor of the Senate, according to Oyewumi of Osun West is aimed at improving healthcare access and delivery in the state.
During the plenary, Oyewumi highlighted the pressing need for enhanced healthcare infrastructure in the region, emphasising the challenges faced by residents in accessing quality medical care.
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The senator also stressed the potential economic and social benefits of establishing a Federal Medical Centre in Ikire where there is already an abandoned Federal General Hospital in the town.
The bill is now scheduled for further legislative scrutiny, including public hearings and committee deliberations. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill at a later date.
OSUN DEFENDER learnt that the same bill sponsored by Senator Basiru has been passed and awaiting presidential assent.
The bill was christened, ‘Federal Medical Centre Osogbo, Osun State (Establishment) Bill, 2021 (SB. 364) by Senator Ajibola Basiru.’
However, some stakeholders in the state have argued on the possibility of having two federal teaching hospitals and two federal medical centres in Osun.
They submitted that one would have expected a concerted effort for the pending bill to be assented to by the President rather than the duplication of effort.
One of them who spoke with OSUN DEFENDER under the condition of anonymity said, “One would have expected that a concerted effort is made for the pending bill to be assented to by the President rather than the duplication of effort.
“Is there any state in Nigeria with a federal teaching hospital and two federal medical centres? How feasible is the proposal for two federal medical centres to be sited in Osun State?
“Or Oyewumi is scheming that the Federal Medical Centre Bill already with the President be discarded so his own fantasy bill be accommodated?”
Yusuf Oketola is a trained journalist with over five years of experience in the media industry. He has worked for both print and online medium. He is a thorough-bred professional with an eye of hindsight on issues bothering on social justice, purposeful leadership, and a society where the leaders charge and work for the prosperity of the people.
