Adewuya, who spoke during a press briefing to usher in the College of Medicine 25th anniversary held at the Conference Room, TETFund Building, LASUCOM, Ikeja, said the plan was in line with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s T.H.E.M.E.S.+ Agenda.

“Our plan is in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S.+ Agenda of Mr Governor which is to make sure that we produce more doctors, more nurses, more pharmacists, more dentists, not only for Lagos, but for the whole Nigeria, especially as we have the facility to do that.

“The number one thing we plan to do is to ramp up production of health workers in order to keep servicing our people. Yes, many people are leaving, but when they are leaving, we have to replace them. So, in order to keep replacing those that are leaving, we have to ramp up production and produce more health workers that we need,” the provost said.

While speaking of the achievements of LASUCOM since its establishment in February 1999, Adewuya said the college had grown from a single faculty and programme institution to one that offers five undergraduate programmes, with accreditation for more already secured.

“LASUCOM is set to commence PhD in Clinical Sciences, PhD in Dental Sciences, and PhD in Pathological Sciences.

“LASUCOM actually forms a think-tank team for the Ministry of Health. So, most of the programmes that you see that are rolled out, most of the policies, most of the regulations, most of the health laws that you have for the people of Lagos State, the core of it came from the Lagos State University College of Medicine,” he said.

A statement by Tokunbo Wahab, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, says the seven schools that will benefit from the initiative are Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State Polytechnic, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Michael Otedola College of Primary Education, Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Lagos College of Health Technology and Lagos State College of Nursing and Midwifery.

The statement reads ”Governor Sanwo-Olu approved the virtual classes to ensure physical distancing among students and their lecturers. The move will also help in the maintenance of the State’s tertiary academic calendar despite the COVID-19 pandemic. All students should maximise the unique opportunity to keep themselves engaged while the lockdown arising from the pandemic lasts.”