The Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA) has commended the Executive Chairman of Somolu Local Government, Honourable Lateef Ashimi, for extending the council’s N3 million monthly Health Support Fund to indigent residents across Lagos State, irrespective of their local government areas.
The organisation described the decision as a humanitarian gesture that would help poor and vulnerable residents access medical treatment without being hindered by their inability to pay hospital bills.
Somolu Local Government, under Ashimi’s leadership, has been operating a N3 million monthly health support scheme at Somolu General Hospital to settle medical bills for indigent members of the community who cannot afford healthcare services.
However, in a development described as exemplary, Ashimi, on Sunday, November 8, 2026, approved the extension of the initiative to poor residents from other local governments and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Lagos State.
Comrade Buna Olaitan Isiak disclosed this in a statement, explaining that the decision followed a telephone conversation with the Somolu chairman.
According to him, the intervention became necessary after HURMA received a distress call from a resident of Bariga LCDA seeking urgent financial assistance to secure medical attention for a child.
Comrade Buna said he contacted Ashimi to clarify whether the existing health support fund could accommodate residents outside Somolu, adding that the chairman graciously approved the request.
He quoted the chairman as making it clear that ‘no poor child in Lagos should die simply because the child does not come from Somolu’.
HURMA described the decision as commendable and worthy of emulation, stressing that access to healthcare should not be restricted by local government boundaries.
The organisation noted that less privilege residents from Bariga, Kosofe, Mushin, Ikorodu and other parts of Lagos should not be denied medical assistance because of their place of residence.
It said the gesture demonstrated that responsible leadership should be driven by humanity rather than political considerations.
HURMA therefore urged the remaining 56 local governments and LCDAs in Lagos State to adopt similar interventions by investing in critical sectors, particularly healthcare, education and social protection.
The organisation also called on the Lagos State Government to consider adopting the Somolu model as a state policy to ensure that indigent residents have access to essential medical services.
It further pledged to monitor the implementation of the fund to ensure that the benefits reach genuinely poor residents without discrimination or interference from middlemen.
HURMA urged indigent Lagos residents requiring medical attention at Somolu General Hospital to contact its office or the hospital management and make reference to the Health Support Fund.