Lagos Health Sector Gets Boost As Senator Eshinlokun Commissions X-Ray Machine At Odan Hospital
The Lagos State health sector received a significant boost on Thursday with the commissioning of a new radiology X-ray machine donated by Senator Wasiu Eshinlokun, in collaboration with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), at General Hospital Odan-Lagos. The intervention is expected to strengthen diagnostic services at one of Nigeria’s oldest public hospitals and improve patient care.
Speaking at the ceremony, Senator Eshinlokun, who represents Lagos Central Senatorial District, said the donation was part of ongoing engagements with the Lagos State Ministry of Health to enhance healthcare delivery, particularly at the primary and secondary levels. He disclosed that consultations with the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, had produced agreed interventions across the health sector.
The senator announced that two new Primary Health Centres at Ojo-Giwa and Itire-Ikate had been approved, with designs completed and contracts already awarded. He added that further interventions were being planned for General Hospital Odan before the end of the current project cycle in March.
Describing the X-ray machine as a “gift of health and a tool to save lives,” Senator Eshinlokun also pledged an additional ₦1 billion for the upgrade of facilities at the hospital. He said the investment would enhance infrastructure, improve patient care and sustain the hospital’s status as a centre of excellence, while commending the Lagos State Government and the NPA for their collaboration.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, described General Hospital Odan as the flagship and one of the oldest general hospitals in Nigeria, noting that it remained a priority under the state’s health infrastructure renewal drive. He said access to functional diagnostic equipment such as X-ray machines was critical to effective healthcare delivery.
Prof. Abayomi thanked Senator Eshinlokun for investing in the health sector, stressing that the new machine would reduce patient referrals outside the hospital for imaging services and ease pressure on both staff and facilities.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Kemi Ogunyemi, said the commissioning underscored the state government’s commitment to placing health at the centre of governance. She noted that the intervention, coming early in the year, reflected the importance of partnerships between government, elected officials and federal agencies.
Representatives of the Nigerian Ports Authority and the hospital management commended the initiative, assuring effective utilisation and maintenance of the equipment. They described the commissioning as historic, noting that the hospital housed Nigeria’s first X-ray machine in 1913, and expressed confidence that the new facility would strengthen patient care, training and diagnostic capacity for the future.
