Emmanuel starts construction of 200-bed capacity general hospital
Akpan Umoh, Uyo
The Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel has begun the construction of a 200-bed capacity General Hospital complex at Oko Ita in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of the State.
Emmanuel promised the people of Ibiono Ibom that the general hospital, which will cater for the health need of the residents will be completed before the end of his administration in May 2023.
The Governor, who was represented by Prof. Augustine Umoh, Commissioner for Health made this known during the turning of the soil of the project in Oko Ita on Wednesday.
“We want good health for all the residents as evident in the building of modern hospitals across the state.
“It must have taken a while before we come to Ibiono Ibom and while waiting something was cooking so, the hospital we want to give to Ibiono Ibom will be one of the best.
“This hospital is going to be a two-story building and we are going to start with the mother and child section of the hospital.
“We will be constructing the hospital in phases and certainly we will complete it in the life of this administration,” Emmanuel said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, ministry of health, Dr Patrick Eshiet, said the hospital was in collaboration with the State and Federal Governments through Sustainable Development Goals.
Eshiet said that the hospital when completed would comprise units like; the maternal and child health department, and administrative block.
Other facilities in the hospital would include; the accident and emergency block (A&E), general outpatient department (GOPD), general theatre, male wards, female wards, mortuary, and staff quarters among others.
In his remarks, the member representing Ibiono Ibom in the House of Assembly, Mr Godwin Ekpo, thanked the governor for the groundbreaking in preparation to build the hospital.
Ekpo appealed to the governor to ensure the completion of the project within the life span of the administration as promised.
He said that the people of Ibiono Ibom had donated the land for government to build a general hospital for the people in 1999, adding that the people were happy as Emmanuel was the one to construct the hospital.
He assured that the Ibiono Ibom people would continue to support the governor’s completion agenda as the 2023 general elections were fast approaching.
