C-River Battles FG Over COVID-19 Training Programme

• Alleges sinister motive by some forces

BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – Not masking the resolve to preserve its much-touted Coronavirus (COVID-19)-free status, the Cross River Government is furious with the Federal Ministry of Health for choosing, Calabar, the State capital to host its planned COVID-19 training programme.

In its anger, the Governor Ben Ayade-led administration has alleged a sinister motive behind the unsolicited hosting rights at a time States are devising various means and taking precautionary measures to combat the deadly virus spread in their domains

According to the Cross River government, its grudge is based on the fact that the Health Ministry did not put them on notice before taking such a crucial decision in this time of countrywide health emergency

The State said its suspicion of possible foul play is heightened by the fact that there was no prior information about the proposed programme, noting “Our vigilant officials only stumbled on a memo addressed to the Naval Referral Medical Hospital as the venue for the training.”

The contentious memo, signed by Habiba Almed, an Assistant Laboratory Technical Officer to the Chief Medical Director of the Naval Hospital, states that PPEs and 200 Xpert SARS – COV-2 cartridges would be delivered to the hospital for a training programme on Coronavirus that would be conducted by KNCDC and KNC Tuberculosis Foundation.

Accusing the Federal Health Ministry of insincerity in the event’s planning process, Cross River Commissioner for Information, Comrade Asu Okang, said the choice of Calabar by the National Centre for Tuberculosis, and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for such a sensitive training, which involves exposure of both negative and positive samples of COVID–19 to participants, smacks of ill intentions.

Okang, who addressed a joint media briefing with his Health counterpart, Dr Beta Edu, in Calabar, the State capital, said there is no guarantee that adequate safety measures have been put in place to ensure the virus does not contaminate participants and those they are likely to have contact with them.

Comrade Okang queried why the State was kept in the dark over the whole arrangements, saying the mere fact that the state still remains as a COVID-19 free territory among the 36 States of the Federation does not seem to go down well in certain quarters.

He claimed that there seems to be some sort of conspiracy against the State as it basks in the euphoria of being the leading light in the country over the fight against the spread of Coronavirus, especially as it remains the first level of government in the country to have closed its land borders and also the first to introduce the “No Nose Mask; No Movement Policy”.

The Commissioner said these measures were in addition to social and physical distancing in public gatherings which were pursued with dexterity before other States followed the State’s good example.

He alleged emerging signals seem to indicate the state could be indirectly suffering punishment from higher authorities for daring to come up with proactive measures that have so far impacted positively on public health of people amid the rampaging deadly pandemic.

Comrade Okang also took a swipe at Naval Authorities for accepting what he described as a demonic offer of hosting the training programme, noting that it appears the NAVY as a Federal Government security outfit is hell bent on dehumanizing the people of Cross River, as not long ago, it unilaterally acquired public land to construct a so-called four-star Hospitality industry without recourse to due process.

In her intervention, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Beta Edu, urged Cross Riverians to brace up for the worst as there is no guarantee that henceforth the samples sent from the state for testing would be handled with sincerity and absolute confidence.

However, both Commissioners said the State takes consolation in the fact that there is always a proverbial David who will alwsys stooped to conquer the rampaging tyranny of the mighty Goliath.