The Federal Government of Nigeria has officially announced plans to construct a new, modern hostel specifically for medical students at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). This announcement came during the groundbreaking and site handover ceremony at the location inside the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi‑Araba, where work on the project is set to begin soon.
The project, which is being supported through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), will see the construction of a 168‑room ultra‑modern hostel built to improve student accommodation near the medical college. According to Dr. Anthony Ajulo, the Chief Executive Officer of Colton Construction Limited, the company awarded the contract, this hostel will be self‑contained and designed with contemporary facilities.
Each room in the new hostel will be shared by two students, meaning the facility will significantly help ease some of the accommodation pressures that medical students often face. The building will rise across three floors and is expected to be completed within the next 24 months.
Dr. Ajulo highlighted that one of the main challenges in cities like Lagos is finding adequate student housing. He explained that this new hostel will play an important role in helping the university achieve its goals for medical education, including the target of producing more trained healthcare professionals each year.
Speaking further about the larger vision behind the project, Dr. Collins Balogun, Principal Partner of Colton Construction Limited, said the initiative aligns with national goals to tackle the ongoing issue of brain drain, where trained medical personnel leave Nigeria for better opportunities abroad. He noted that increasing the number of doctors produced locally is vital for improving healthcare across the country, and quality infrastructure like this hostel will help support that goal.
Balogun added that the hostel is part of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, an effort to improve educational infrastructure and support student welfare in Nigerian universities. He explained that such projects are expected to be rolled out to other parts of the country as well, to expand the capacity of institutions to train more professionals.
At the event, Professor Folasade Ogunshola, the Vice‑Chancellor of UNILAG, expressed her happiness about the initiative. She emphasised that Nigeria has long struggled with retaining its healthcare workforce. For this reason, she welcomed the government’s focus on expanding training capacity and improving housing for students who are preparing to serve in the medical field.
Professor Ogunshola remarked that improving infrastructure is essential for preparing future healthcare workers and ensuring the university can accommodate more students in its medical programme. She thanked the government for the support and stressed the need for more actions that will help increase the number of qualified medical professionals in the country.
In summary, this new government‑backed hostel at UNILAG aims to ease accommodation challenges for medical students, promote better learning environments, and support the broader national objective of strengthening the healthcare workforce in Nigeria.
