At a get-together for selected journalists on Monday December 21, Honourable Segun Olulade, the representative of Epe constituency II in the Lagos state House of Assembly and chairman of its committee on Health, explains how his committee plans to ensure a virile health sector in the state henceforth.
Excerpts:
As the chairman of the House committee on Health, what are you doing to attract the attention of the state government to the deplorable situation in our public hospitals?
You would recall that the first statement I issued as the chairman of the Health committee had to do with efficiency in our health centres and our hospitals. Now, it would not be business as usual in the sector. We thank God for the governor of Lagos state and the state government for this new budget because it would provide us infrastructure that would enhance health services in Lagos state.
There is the health insurance scheme, where we will have some sorts of funds to enhance infrastructure and healthcare services. However, I just came in as the chairman of the Health committee and I only got the names of my committee members today, I cannot have a one-man show, which is why we had not been as active as expected before now. But, we will swing into action soon and visit some of the hospitals in the state and those, who are not serious about being health providers, should find their ways out of the sector.
I want to seek your partnership and support, we will visit the hospitals together and I want the visits reported. Healthcare is what we cannot joke about, it is our collective responsibility and all hands must be on deck.
The governor is committed to this, members of the state executive council and the LSHA are committed to this. We would ensure that there is efficiency in our health system.
January 2016 would be devoted to things like this because we would be busy with the budget this December. We will soon pass the budget and make it a New Year gift for the people of the state.
We will perform our oversight functions, visit all the health centres and hospitals in Lagos state. We want to have a turn-around in the sector and efficiency that is not common in this part of the world.
Q: What areas are you focusing as the chairman of the Health committee?
I want my name to be written in gold, when healthcare services are being mentioned in Lagos State and in Nigeria. The former Director of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Control (NAFDAC), the late Professor Dora Akunyili became popular based on her activities on drug control. I would look at the issue of children so as to reduce infant and maternal mortality rates. I would look at the services being rendered by our health workers.
I want them to show care that we have known for like Eleniyan Care. I would look at the control of HIV/AIDS, diabetes, cancer and others. These are what lead to deaths of people every day and we would all work together to reduce or eliminate this.
Q:What is your relationship with the state commissioner for Health?
We will have a family in the healthcare sector in the state, we will relate with one another on the issue of health in the state. Our personal interest would not affect the issue of healthcare in the state. What is the update on the issue affecting the Kogi state Governorship election as it relates to Honourable James Abiodun Faleke?
Faleke has gone to the tribunal on the issue, so let us wait for the outcome of the matter. I wish we get to the Supreme Court so that we can rest the case. Even if he is called upon to be the Governor of Kogi State today, we will still have to go to court to deepen our democracy.
This is necessary so that somebody would not come up with something that would destroy our democracy tomorrow because the word ‘inconclusive’ has become the order of the day today, so that the people would not use ‘inconclusive’ in any matter that should have been declared ‘conclusive.’ For Faleke, the party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and for our democracy, we must go to court. The matter must get to the Supreme Court for proper interpretation.
If we had to use the criteria they used for the Kogi state Governorship election for the last general elections in the country, a lot of us would not be in the state or National Assembly today, many would not have been governors today and even the senators, members of the House of Representatives, and the president of the country would not have been in office today.
What they are saying is that where unlawful votes are canceled, a winner would not emerge. We must go to court and make sure that the election is declared conclusive.
