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| Hon. Obun & Dr Edu |
By Asare Asare
Former State Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Cross River State central, Chief Cletus Obun has called on Governor Benedict Ayade to sack Dr Betta Edu, and other key officials in the health ministry over alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 and consequently compromising the health of the people of the state.
Obun who is a member of the governing board of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, also declared intention to sue the commissioner and health officials for disclosing the health history of his wife to the public against medical ethics.
He alleged that the state government had abandoned his wife, Mrs Glory Obun, a laboratory scientist in the state government-owned Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) when she tested positive for COVID-19. He alleged further that when she was referred to the UCTH Isolation centre, she was rejected and asked to go away since the place was not functional instead of proffering other protocols to keep away from mingling with the public.
He expressed surprise that whereas there has been spike in the number of infected persons and attendant high number of deaths of victims in the state, yet the state has no surveillance mechanism to monitor but continues cover to cover in secrecy the COVID-19 situations in the state.
“I feel very strongly that some members of Ayade’s Government are bent on sabotaging his administration. They have, therefore, compromised the health sector.
“I would like the Governor to ensure that his appointees do not become permanent as even permanent secretaries are never permanent. There is a huge deficit in performance by the appointees in the health sector.
“There has been alarming increase in the number of COVID-19 related cases and deaths in the state, yet it is shrouded in secrecy by the health authorities.
“What’s does it add to my political profile for me to come out to draw attention to the way they have treated my wife. If they can do this to me, what happens to the vegetable sellers, those without voices and visibility.
“I also feel very insulted and pained that the Commissioner for Health in the State, Dr Betta Edu and one Dr Genevieve whom the NCDC Abuja introduced to me as their contact person in the state could say my wife does not have COVID-19 but hemorrhoids and other complications. In any case, why should they bring up the medical history of my wife instead of focusing on the COVID-19. This is very unethical. It is against medical rules, and I am not wasting time than to ask my lawyers to handle the matter…”
Reacting, the Commissioner for Health insisted that Obun’s wife does not have COVID-19 going by her own confession but other complications and underlying critical health issues.
She said Obun was raising unnecessary alarm and also blackmailing Gov Ayade.
She denied that she ever disclosed Obun’s wife health conditions.
“If he needs our supports, he needed to have come out and say so. It’s quite unfair for him to come to the public to lie. Even his wife has confessed that it is not COVID-19.”
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