Former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, will deliver the maiden convocation lecture of Eko University of Medicine and Health Sciences (EkoUNIMED), Ijanikin, Lagos.

The former Lagos State governor will deliver the lecture titled: “Medical Education: Yesterday, Today and Nearest Future,” as part of the activities on January 29, lined up for the university’s maiden convocation ceremony.

Speaking at a media briefing, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Gbolahan Awosanya, said the institution would graduate 27 doctors and award Fellowship honour to three outstanding individuals, among them is Fashola, and the Commissioner for the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, Lagos State, Mr Bolaji Kayode Robert.

While thanking God for the achievement, the Vice Chancellor said the institution would have graduated the first set of students in 2025 but for the delay caused by COVID-19.

To advance the frontier of knowledge and redefine the approach to herbal medicine in healthcare, Awosanya said the university would soon embark on extensive research, noting that the Chinese and Indians have continued to leverage their rich medical heritage to revolutionise healthcare in their countries and around the world.

He also stated that the institution would soon start nursing, after a positive results evaluation by both the National Nurses Commission of Nigeria and the Nursing Council. The university will also go into BSc radiography and BSc medical laboratory sciences, he added.

The vice chancellor, who noted that one of the things the university had achieved was to bring down the cost of medical education to the lowest level, being the cheapest and most affordable private medical institution offering medicine and surgery in Nigeria, currently, he added that the institution was also planning to build a teaching hospital in Ijanikin to improve healthcare in the host community and also serve as medical training ground for its students.