The former Chairman of the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers and Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Adebanji Alabi, has called for the upgrade of the annex of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti to enable 24-hour medical services for residents.

The monarch appealed while receiving the hospital management team led by the Chief Medical Director, Kolawole Ogundipe, at his palace in Ilawe-Ekiti.

He noted that some modern medical equipment at the annex was underutilised and urged the management to fully deploy laboratory and other facilities to improve healthcare delivery for Ilawe-Ekiti and surrounding communities.

“The hospital annex should make use of the state-of-the-art equipment, including laboratory facilities in the facility to meet the medical needs of patients,” he said.

Oba Alabi also praised the CMD and staff of the hospital for sustaining operations despite current economic challenges, and acknowledged contributions from prominent indigenes such as legal practitioner Femi Falana and Senator Yemi Adaramodu toward the development of the facility.

In response, Ogundipe thanked the community for its support and pledged to improve services at the annex, promising closer engagement with stakeholders.

He said efforts were ongoing to reposition the hospital as a centre of excellence in healthcare delivery, training, and research, in line with its role as a federal tertiary institution.

Ogundipe assumed office in March following his appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and has since outlined plans to strengthen the hospital system and improve service delivery across its facilities.