A bill for a law to provide for the establishment of Dr Umaru Sandah Ahmadu College of Health Technology in Lokoja and other matters committed therewith 2024 has passed its second reading in Kogi State House of Assembly.
Leading the debate on the merits of the bill on Thursday during plenary sitting, the Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Aliyu Umar Yusuf who doubles as Member representing Lokoja 11 state constituency, disclosed that the bill was put on notice and laid before the House on October 3rd, 2024 and subsequently given its first reading on October 29th, 2024.
According to Rt Hon Yusuf, the bill is a private member one which is sponsored by him, adding that the College sought to provide educational services in health technology and public diagnoses in line with the standards set by the monitoring bodies in both the state and at the federal levels.
The Speaker said the passage of the bill would was needed to establish a legal framework that would regulate the administrative , academic and operational activities of the proposed College of Health Technology Lokoja.
He explained that the benefits that Nigerians, the state and Lokoja residents stand to get when the private institution is established include opportunities for studies, training and research in Health Sciences and Technology which would lead to the awards of different professional certificates.
He also added a lot of other benefits apart from being awarded professional certificates.
Yusuf who said the bill has 36 pages and structured into nine parts with 58 clauses and supplementary provisions, gave highlights of how the College would look like when established and operational.
He called on lawmakers to permit the second reading of the bill so that it would go through other legislative processes and passage .
Almost all the lawmakers took turn to give their support to the bill.
The Deputy Speaker, Rt Hon Mrs Comfort Ojoma Nwuchiola Egwaba who presided over the sitting directed the Clerk to give the bill its second reading.
In an interview with Reflection Newspaper, Rt Hon Aliyu Umar Yusuf who expressed appreciation to God and his colleagues for being able to present the bill, said the College is named after their patriarch and mentor.
He reiterated that one of the aims of establishing the College is the provision of manpower to assist in health establishments in the state and the Local Government.
Yusuf advised all stakeholders to ensure that a strong legal framework is quickly put in place so that the private school would be in operation soon pointing out that the stakeholders are not waiting for government to build for them .
Also speaking in support of the people- oriented bill , representative of Dekina/ Biraidu State Constituency, Hon Ochid Usman Shehu who doubles as Chairman House Committee on Health said the establishment of the College was imperative in view of the enormous need of manpower in the health sector and the need to pass through good institutions.
He explained that most time students seeking admissions to such health training institutions face challenges like quota system, exorbitant fees, distance issues and so on, pointing out that the desire of private organisation to establish a private health institution was a welcome development.
Hon Ochidi Shehu disclosed that he had once written a memo to the president on the need to declare free education for students in health institutions in a bid to have enough doctors and nurses in the country, explaining that the government could sign bonds with them .
He pointed out that the money removed as subsidies from petrols could be channeled towards training more doctors and nurses as well as other health personnel in view of the fact that a lot of them ha ve left the country for greener pasture .
The lawmaker advised go ernments and employers of labour to renumerate appropriately medical personnel so as to encourage them to stay in the country, concluding that the establishment of Dr Sandah Ahmadu College of Health Technology is a way forward.