The Management of General Hospital, Calabar, has noted with concern a misleading video circulating on social media, which falsely alleged that the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk, visited the hospital to commission a soakaway pit.
For the avoidance of doubt, Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk did not visit the General Hospital to commission a soakaway pit or any other project. His visit was strictly a routine inspection aimed at assessing the condition of facilities, interacting with the hospital management, identifying operational challenges and reinforcing the Ministry’s commitment to improved healthcare service delivery across public health institutions in Cross River State.
Routine inspection is a fundamental responsibility of every supervising authority. Such visits are conducted to evaluate service delivery, monitor compliance with established standards, identify areas requiring urgent intervention and ensure that public health facilities remain clean, safe and conducive for both patients and healthcare workers. It is therefore inaccurate and deliberately misleading to portray a routine inspection as the commissioning of a project.
During the visit, the Honourable Commissioner challenged the hospital management to uphold the highest standards of cleanliness, environmental sanitation and professionalism. He also directed that identified deficiencies be addressed promptly in line with the Governor’s commitment to strengthening the healthcare system across the state.
Contrary to the false narrative being circulated, the Commissioner’s visit highlights his unwavering commitment to accountability, prudent management of public resources and continuous improvement in healthcare delivery. At no time did he commission any soakaway pit or any other facility within the hospital.
While we acknowledge that, like many public health institutions across the country, the hospital continues to contend with some infrastructural and operational challenges, these are neither new nor ignored. The Ministry of Health and the hospital management have continued to address these challenges through phased interventions within available resources, while pursuing long-term improvements in infrastructure and service delivery.
It is therefore unfortunate that the creator of the video chose to distort the purpose of the Commissioner’s visit in a calculated attempt to malign his person, mislead the public and undermine the ongoing reforms in the state’s health sector. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but it must be founded on facts rather than falsehoods and deliberate misrepresentation.
The Management wishes to state unequivocally that Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk is a prudent administrator, a strong advocate of accountability and a firm believer in transparency and responsible stewardship of public resources. Attempts to portray him as commissioning a soakaway pit or associating him with administrative negligence are entirely false, malicious and devoid of any factual basis.
We therefore urge members of the public to disregard the misleading video and its spurious claims. The content is replete with falsehoods, political undertones and sensational allegations apparently sponsored by narrow-minded individuals whose objective is to discredit the Honourable Commissioner and the sustained efforts of the Cross River State Government to reposition the health sector.
The Management of General Hospital, Calabar, remains committed to delivering quality healthcare services and will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Health to improve the hospital environment, strengthen service delivery and ensure the welfare of patients and staff.
Members of the public are encouraged to rely on information from official sources and to disregard unverified social media content designed to misinform, incite public distrust and erode confidence in public institutions.
Signed:
Dr Kenneth Takim
Medical Superintendent
General Hospital Calabar.
