Senate has passed a bill establishing the Federal University of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology in Jos, Plateau State, in a move aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s diagnostic healthcare system.
The legislation is expected to expand the training of medical laboratory professionals and reduce the country’s dependence on medical treatment abroad.
The bill, which originated in the House of Representatives, was approved after the Senate concurred with its passage by the lower chamber during plenary presided over by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin.
The proposed institution will become Nigeria’s first specialised university dedicated exclusively to medical laboratory science education, research, innovation and technological advancement.
Leading the debate on the bill, Senate Leader, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, said the institution would play a strategic role in improving disease diagnosis and strengthening public health surveillance.
He added that the university would also promote biomedical research and produce highly skilled professionals to meet the country’s growing healthcare needs.
Moving the motion for concurrence, Senator Bamidele urged lawmakers to support the bill, stressing its significance to Nigeria’s healthcare and educational development.
The Senate subsequently considered and passed the legislation in the Committee of the Whole.
The bill had earlier received overwhelming support in the House of Representatives, where Speaker Abbas Tajudeen argued that Nigeria’s healthcare system cannot function effectively without a robust diagnostic foundation.
According to the Speaker, inadequate diagnostic capacity remains one of the major reasons many Nigerians continue to seek medical treatment abroad despite improvements in some aspects of the nation’s health sector.
He maintained that establishing a specialised university would address the shortage of highly trained medical laboratory scientists, promote innovation and improve the quality of diagnostic services nationwide.
During the same sitting, the Senate also passed the Federal Road Safety Corps (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Federal Universities of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
Lawmakers further gave second reading to a separate bill seeking to amend the Federal Medical Centres Act to establish a Federal Medical Centre in Argungu, Kebbi State, as part of efforts to expand access to quality healthcare services across the country.
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