The Femi Gbajabiamila Hall of Residence at @UnilagNigeria will be officially commissioned today.
The 484-bed hostel facility is the landmark contribution of the Chief of Staff to the President, @femigbaja, to the physical infrastructure development of his Alma Mater.
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We’re well underway now…😊
Our Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola kicks it off on a note of gratitude.
She thanks the donor, @femigbaja , for his visionary leadership and large-heartedness.
Generations of students of UNILAG will definitely be grateful to him.
The Donor, Rt. Hon. @femigbaja gives his remarks.
He thanks the immediate past VC, @profogundipe, for suggesting the hostel as a project idea & the current VC, Prof. Ogunsola for her continuity.
“I hope that it provides the space for students to live and dream big”, he said.
“May this hall of residence be a place where dreams are nurtured to greatness”.
Those were the words of @Speaker_Abbas at the official commissioning of the Femi Gbajabiamila Hall of Residence.
He lauded the Donor’s pro-people leadership style, promising to replicate same.
Management of @UnilagNigeria pose for a picture at the official commissioning of the Femi Gbajabiamila Hall of Residence.
Olabimiji Enitan Jowosimi (@Legendaryjoe) is the Special Assistant on New Media to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
LEGENDARY J.O.E @LegendaryJoe
Today, my Boss, the Speaker of Nigeria, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen @Speaker_Abbas, Ph.D will commission the new 484-bed Femi Gbajabiamila @femigbaja Hall of Residence at the University of Lagos, Akoka...
Gbaja, Jimi Benson, Akin Alabi, Bello El Rufai and a few others will make you think there were governors as lawmakers.
Speaker Abbas Commissions Gbajabiamila’s Constituency Projects In Lagos
Gloria Essien, Abuja On Jan 3, 2024
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has commissioned the Surulere Study Centre of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) facilitated by the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
Speaker Abbas also opened a 484-bed Femi Gbajabiamila Hall of Residence at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), equally facilitated by Gbajabiamila when he served as the Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives.
Speaking at the separate events on Wednesday, the Speaker faulted the criticisms against the Zonal Intervention Projects popularly called constituency projects, saying they are successfully addressing the needs of Nigerians, especially at the grassroots.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Speaker Abbas opened an 80-bed hospital at Imota in Ikorodu, Lagos State, facilitated by the member representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency and the Chairman, House Committee on Defence, Hon. Babajimi Benson.
Annual budget
In implementing constituency projects, members of the National Assembly identify the needs of their constituents and nominate projects within a threshold in the annual budget of the Federal Government. The ministries, departments and agencies execute them as part of their capital projects.
The Speaker noted that legislative representation and constituency projects are two critical components of a functioning democracy, especially in a representative system of government like Nigeria’s presidential democracy.
“These specific initiatives are funded through the government budget and are intended to address the needs and improve the conditions of constituents, ” he stated.
Speaker Abbas also noted that for many Nigerians, especially at the grassroots, it is through constituency projects that they see the most direct and tangible manifestation of the government and democracy.
“However, there has been a widespread and endemic misunderstanding of the purpose and essence of these legislative interventions. Constituency projects are not mere items in a budget; they are the lifelines that connect the heart of our government to the heartbeat of communities,” he stated.
Unique opportunity
The Speaker explained that the projects offer a unique opportunity for legislators to address the specific needs and challenges of their constituents. He said: “By tailoring projects to local contexts, we ensure that development is not just a concept discussed in the halls of the legislature but a reality experienced in the streets, villages, and towns across Nigeria.
“Furthermore, constituency projects best reflect participatory governance, given that local communities are involved in the decision-making process. This approach does not just build infrastructure; it builds trust, confidence, and a sense of ownership among the people.”
Saying he was personally encouraged by the many success stories that had emerged from constituency projects over the last two decades, Speaker Abbas noted that schools had opened doors to education, healthcare facilities had saved lives, and infrastructure had bridged literal and metaphorical gaps between communities.
The Speaker stated: “These success stories are not just achievements; they inspire millions of Nigerians at the grassroots level and show that the government cares about them. With greater transparency and accountability, constituency projects can be the most viable tools for developing forgotten sections of Nigeria.
“I intend to re-introduce a reviewed version of the Constituency Development Fund Bill to provide a legal framework for the management, disbursement, utilisation and accountability of funds designated for constituency projects.
He urged all legislators and members of the House of Representatives to emulate Hon. Gbajabiamila and renew their commitment to constituency projects.
He called for team work to bring about meaningful change for the constituents, saying that is the true measure of our success as legislators.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday also commissioned some projects that were facilitated by Femi Gbajabiamila and he made this statement at the commissioning of the Femi Gbajabiamila General Hospital in Surulere.
Japa: Lagos to build 1500-capacity medical varsity
To counter the mass exodus of doctors and other medical personnel, the Lagos state government will, this year, build a medical university targeted at graduating 1,500 doctors yearly.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who spoke while inaugurating the Femi Gbajabiamila General Hospital in Surulere facilitated by the Chief of Staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila in his Surulere federal constituency, said construction of the new varsity will commence and be completed this year.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed further that the varsity will be built in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Universities Commission (NUC).
He explained that the facility is needed following advice from the Federal authorities that the state needed to scale up the number of medical personnel it produces in the light of the shortage of medical health practitioners due to japa.
Gbajabiamila inaugurates four projects across Lagos
Chief of Staff to the president, Femi Gbajabiamila, has urged Nigerians to be patient, saying government’s ability to perform takes experience, pedigree and time.
He also admonished those seeking public office to ‘remember that the ultimate and highest legacy we can leave as public servants is in the evident improvements to the lives of the people we serve’.
“I must also urge citizens to remember that the ability to get things done in government requires experience and pedigree, takes time and demands that we manage expectations accordingly,” he added.
Gbajabiamila spoke on Tuesday, January 2, in Lagos while inaugurating projects he facilitated in his Surulere Federal Constituency during his tenure as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The projects were commissioned alongside Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and they include a state-of-the-art conference centre at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, an ultramodern, multi-floor 80-bed General Hospital, the dualised Babs Animashaun Road and Census Bridge, and the Sam Shonibare Community Development Centre, all in Surulere.
Gbajabiamila, who traced his political trajectory in the last 20 years at the House of Representatives, said it was an honour to serve.
He thanked Governor Sanwo-Olu, ‘for his support and collaboration through the years because without partnership with the state government, it would have been more difficult to achieve our visions for the projects’.
Gbajabiamila added: “I am proud that we have constructed over 250 roads in selected federal constituencies in the state, especially Surulere I and II constituencies, and completed 15 mini stadia. We facilitated heavy investment in education and healthcare, including constructing and equipping over 20 ICT centers in public schools where children are taught computer programming and coding. We have provided solar energy systems to light up neighbourhoods and support commercial trades in our constituencies.”
The General Hospital was upgraded from a primary healthcare centre and now boasts of advanced and specialist care facilities, a 500kva generator, a 100kva solar power supply on the roof, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a borehole, water filtration system and a dialysis centre on the second floor. It also boasts of radiology, a large laboratory, paediatric, physiotherapy, surgical, and X-ray facilities.
The Chief of Staff said the projects were inspired by a sense of duty and part of his efforts to meet the people’s expectations.
Sanwo-Olu, who thanked Gbajabiamila for partnering the state government, said such fruitful collaborations were part of the administration’s efforts to further its THEMES agenda.
He noted that the facility is now world-class, and would be managed by the Ministry of Health.
The governor added that to strengthen the state’s medical infrastructure, and counter the mass exodus of doctors and other medical personnel, the government will, this year, build a medical university targetted at graduating 1,500 doctors yearly.
Sanwo-Olu said the institution will be built in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Universities Commission (NUC).
He explained that the facility is needed following advice from the Federal authorities that the state needs to scale up the number of medical personnel it produces in the light of the shortage of medical health practitioners due to the japa syndrome.
Sanwo-Olu said: “Lagos State will be establishing, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Universities Commission (NUC), a medical university before the end of this year. This is a strategic intervention, moment for us.
“We cannot fold our arms like a government that cannot intervene, and so we will, as a state that is leading the pack and we hope that other states will take the initiative and set up this university to scale up our medical graduates to about 1,500 yearly. It will also stem, in our view, the risk of our medical personnel leaving our country. We are not going to stop at ensuring that we provide the best facilities to be able to retain our best hands.”
LegendHero: Be like say Gbaja wan become governor.
I think so too but I feel allowing Ambode to stage a come back will be a better political game considering the recent unpredictability of Lagos politics
That is good.. worthy of emulation .. at least he wasn't getting married to new wife or spending millions on Presidential form like that Yobe man in the Red Chamber , he is touching lives in his own little way ... Hope as Chief of Staff he can touch more and not choke Surulere with projects, now you are Nigeria Chief of Staff o ... I know Chief Senator Akpabio would not disappoint..
We have read this news in 50 different versions. Nairaland mods, please move other threads to the front page; this news has been hitting the front page for several days now.
SoNature: We have read this news in 50 different versions. Nairaland mods, please move other threads to the front page; this news has been hitting the front page for several days now.
No vex. I know you Kerosene drunkards hate good news. The mods are happy with the good news. Not every time, unknown gunmen news.
I think so too but I feel allowing Ambode to stage a come back will be a better political game considering the recent unpredictability of Lagos politics
Lagos has a blueprint and whoever is not ready to follow that trajectory should be pushed aside. This is southwest not southeast
Nonsense... If you know how much they siphoned through this project... you wouldn't want to commend them... And for those of you commending them... What did we elect them for if not for this...
I think so too but I feel allowing Ambode to stage a come back will be a better political game considering the recent unpredictability of Lagos politics
It's the turn of a Muslim, Ambode knows this as well. That's how it's being done here
