By Chioma Onuegbu

GOVERNOR Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has said that operations at Ibom Specialist Hospital were suspended as a result of failure of the managers to live up to the terms of agreement.

Gov Emmanuel Udom

Emmanuel also said that the managers could not offset the cost or declare any profit despite the huge investment made by the state government.

The governor, who made this known during the October edition of Government House Prayer meeting at the Latter House Chapel, Governor’s Lodge, Uyo, stressed that state government had not received any profit since operations commenced in the referral hospital.

He said: “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. It came to a point where I asked the manager,where is the money you are charging the patients, can’t it be used in payment of salary in the hospital?

“I took over the payment of the Consultant’s salary and I paid the Consultants from my imprest, I have the vouchers. I took an oath that I would not place my interest above that of the state.

“If people don’t know certain things let them ask questions and not to castigate the Governor. I don’t play politics with the development of the people.”

The governor however assured that a new management team would be put in place after reviewing the terms of agreement for the hospital.

He reiterated his administration’s commitment in ensuring that investment in every sector of the state economy yields returns that would help to enhance the revenue profile of the state.

He stressed that defaulters in the management of assets belonging to the state government would face prosecution.

He announced plans to lease out the Ibom Tropicana Hotel Complex Uyo, to a consortium to fix and manage the facility while the Four Point by Sheraton Hotel located in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area would be completed and managed by the Sheraton Group.

“We are going to lease out the Hotel in Tropicana to an expert because government 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.”