Demands urgent relocation, says residents live under psychological distress
Two years after the tragic elevator incident that claimed the life of Dr Diaso Vwaere, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Lagos State chapter, has raised fresh concerns over the lingering unsafe conditions at the House Officers Quarters of the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos.

In a statement issued on August 1, 2025, to mark the second anniversary of Vwaere’s death, the association described the young doctor as a bright and promising professional who lost her life while serving humanity.

Vwaere died on August 1, 2023, after being trapped in a faulty elevator at the hospital’s quarters, a tragedy the NMA described as both avoidable and devastating.

The incident, the association noted, plunged the medical community and the late doctor’s family into deep mourning.

Despite public outrage and repeated calls for reform following the incident, the NMA lamented that little has changed.

The building, it said, remains in poor condition, with the promised rehabilitation still incomplete. Water and power supply remain unreliable, and residents continue to endure psychologically distressing conditions.

Meanwhile, a visit by The Guardian to the building confirmed some of the association’s concerns. The main entrance to the quarters has been blocked from the inside, leaving residents to use a side entrance surrounded by a barricade around the elevator area. Some residents told The Guardian that although the faulty elevator had been replaced with a new one, it remains inaccessible and has not been put to use since last year.

These persistent issues, the NMA said, posed a serious hazard to the house officers currently residing in the quarters.

In response, the association has sought immediate relocation of house officers to safer accommodation, full rehabilitation of the building by the end of 2025, installation and activation of the elevator before the year ends, and the renaming of the building as “Dr Diaso Vwaere’s House Officers Quarters” in honour of the late doctor.

NMA Lagos chapter, therefore, called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to personally intervene and ensure that the demands are met.

The association stressed that protecting the lives of current and future healthcare workers must be a priority and that honouring Vwaere should go beyond symbolic gestures.

It would be recalled that Senior Special Assistant on New Media to the Governor, Jubril Gawat, had last year posted on his X handle that construction company, Julius Berger, had commenced comprehensive work on the entire structure, not just the elevator.

He said: “It’s a comprehensive work now for the whole structure. The contractors have been on site for about two months. A brand new elevator is also on its way. Keep calm.”

However, with the new elevator still not functional and key safety upgrades yet to be completed, the NMA insists the current pace of progress is unacceptable.

It warned that failure to act urgently could lead to yet another preventable tragedy.