Governor Udom Emmanuel has again reiterated the commitment of the Akwa Ibom State government to ensure that investments in every sector of the state economy yield returns and enhance the revenue profile of the state.
Governor Emmanuel who spoke during the October edition of the Government House Prayer meeting held at the Latter House Chapel, Government House, Uyo, said the suspension of operations at Ibom Specialist Hospital was due to the inability of the management to fulfill the terms of agreement.
The State Chief Executive maintain that Defaulters in the management of the state assets would face prosecution and assured that a new management team would be put in place at the Ibom Specialist Hospital after a review of the terms of Agreement.
“I took an oath that I would not place my interest above that of the state. I don’t play politics with the development of the people,” he affirmed.
He said that the managers of the hospital could not offset the operational cost or declare profit despite the huge investments of the state government in the hospital.
“If as a business man I receive 50 percent of the support we give to the person managing the Specialist Hospital, I will declare profit. Ask him since the day he started managing the hospital whether he has paid one naira to the State Government?”
The Governor said that at some point, he asked the management, “where is the money you are charging the patients, can’t it be used in payment of salary in the hospital ?
He said he took over the payment of the Consultants’ salaries having to pay them from his imprest and expressed surprise that, “even with that the Consultant left because I don’t know how he managed them…”
Governor Emmanuel announced plans to lease out the Ibom Tropicana Hotel to a Consortium to fix and manage the facility while the Four Point by Sheraton Hotel at Ikot Ekpene would be completed and managed by the Sheraton Group.
“We are going to lease out the Hotel in Tropicana to the Expert because as government I cannot run the hotel. The expert would pay some money at the initial state and run the place for a certain number of years to enable them recover their money. If I do this the expert would run the place very well inorder to recover their money ”
He used the occasion to emphasize that education is free in the state adding that he has released grants to schools and warned parents not to pay money to any school head but report such illegal charges to the appropriate authority.
” Let me also say here that education is free in the state. If anybody ask your ward to pay anything, please let us know. Some weeks ago I released education grant to schools so I don’t understand why people should tell students to pay five thousand naira for cutlass. Some of these things are done to give the government a bad image”
He expressed appreciation to the Government House Prayer team for their dedication and steadfastness in prayers which he said has brought about the successes recorded by the administration.
The Governor also thanked the people for the overall support given to the administration saying that their massive turnout at the just concluded 30th Anniversary celebration of the creation of the state was eloquent testimony of their solidarity to his administration.
Professor Edet Udoh, the Chairman of the state Technical Committee on Agriculture and Food Sufficiency, who preached at the prayer summit said that God is always ready to turn every adversary in favour of those who truely serve him.
The University don admonished those in positions of authority to always make the best out of every situation and seek the face of God for direction.
At the event, prayers were offered to the Governor, his Cabinet, other arms of government and the Country.