The House of Representatives has passed a bill for second reading seeking to establish a Federal College of Nursing and Midwifery in Ifako/Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State to expand professional training and help address Nigeria’s shortage of healthcare workers.

The bill, sponsored by Benjamin Olabinjo, who represents Ifako/Ijaiye Federal Constituency, was debated during Wednesday’s plenary.

Leading the debate, Olabinjo said the proposed institution would increase the number of qualified nurses and midwives available to hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country.

He expressed concern that the migration of trained professionals to the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and other Western countries had worsened staffing shortages in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

“Ask any hospital in Nigeria what it needs most, and the answer is almost always the same: more nurses and midwives,” he said, adding that the country was losing trained professionals faster than it could replace them.

The proposed college would provide training, research and continuing education in nursing, midwifery and related fields. Its programmes would include professional certificates, diplomas, degrees and post-basic qualifications.

The bill also provides for a governing council, a School of Nursing, a School of Midwifery and principal officers to oversee the institution’s academic and administrative activities.

Olabinjo said the college would help strengthen healthcare delivery, particularly maternal and child health services, by increasing the supply of skilled professionals. He noted that more trained midwives could help reduce preventable maternal and infant deaths, especially in communities with limited access to skilled birth attendants.

Beyond healthcare, the lawmaker said the institution would create educational and employment opportunities for young people in Ifako/Ijaiye and other parts of Lagos State. It would also provide jobs for academic, administrative and support staff while stimulating economic activities in the host community.

“Training close to home means a real career for young people in this constituency and Lagos, without the cost of moving far away to study,” he said.

Olabinjo urged his colleagues to support the bill and called for its referral to the relevant committee for further legislative consideration. The proposed college would require passage by the National Assembly and presidential assent before it could be established under the law.