A member of the House of Representatives Sola Fatoba has said Nigerians have no reason to travel abroad for medical help, owing to enormous resources available to build the sector.
The lawmaker who represents Ado/Irepodun/Ifelodun federal constituency of Ekiti State, also described as apt and expedient, the agitations by Nigerians for a state Police and legislative autonomy for states, saying the duo are critical to the country’s socio-political and economic development.
The All Progressives Congress(APC) lawmaker, spoke in Ado Ekiti on Thursday while commissioning N450 million worth of projects he built and donated as democracy dividends to his constituency.
Fatoba said some of his projects centred on health and education because of the high priority placed on the two pivotal sectors by residents of Ekiti State.
Speaking against the backdrop of the rampancy of medical tourism in Nigeria, Fatoba said it is high time the country built the health sector to a standard that could take care of all ailments, rather than trooping to other nations to build their economies at our own expense.
He said: “Medical tourism is one of the things I condemn in totality. Nigerian forefathers didn’t do that. We can’t continue to kill our own health sector and be trooping to another man’s lands to build their economies.
“Look at what Chief Afe Babalola(SAN) did in Afe Babalola University with the multi-system hospital. People are coming from all over Nigeria to seek medical treatments there. These are things that should be happening in our state and our country.
”If Our people can give APC the chance to serve Ekiti beyond the tenure of Governor Kayode Fayemi in 2022, our party will encourage more investments in the health sector that will help the citizens of Nigeria”.
Throwing his weight behind the agitations for State Police, Fatoba said the level of insecurity in the country has gone beyond what the federal machinery can unilaterally tackle and bring to a halt.
“What we are witnessing now regarding the level of insecurity is a phase that will soon pass. But We should not leave our security in the hands of the government. The criminals are not spirits. If you are waiting for the government in Abuja or Ekiti to know what is happening in your domains, then we will all fail in that regard of having the protection of lives and property.
“That is why we are all supporting constitutional amendments for the creation of state police. The country is ripe to have state police and the National Assembly has been backing this agitation”, he stated.
The lawmaker added that financial autonomy, which has caused unrest and strikes across the 36 states of the federation was right, saying the measure would help in deepening the country’s democracy if eventually granted.
“One of the things that we have been supporting at the National Assembly is full independence of the legislative arm. The National has theirs and the state too must enjoy same.
“Though, there was relative independence of this arm in some states, but not in terms of finances. I will lend my voice to it that states must have full autonomy for their legislature, anytime the issue is brought to the National Assembly for consideration”.
Ekiti lawmaker condemns medical tourism, backs state police, legislative autonomy
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