Detailing News

  Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, Director General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has urged the 2021'Batch C' Stream 2 Corps members deployed to Cross River to promote national unity and integration during and after their service year. The Director General stated this during the official induction ceremony of corps members at the NYSC permanent orientation camp on Tuesday in Obubra local government area of Cross River. Represented by the Coordinator of NYSC in Cross River, Mr Zemoh Andrew, the DG urged the corps members to use the orientation course to prepare themselves physically and mentally so that they can impact positively to the programme and development of their fatherland. He charged them to maintain a high level of commitment and discipline and to also be security conscious at all times. The DG, while encouraging the corps members to observed all COVID-19 protocols on camp, advised them to take the vaccine and stay protected against the virus. High point of the event was

  Cross River State is poised to deliver a basket of health care services to women and children under an integrated package of highly cost-effective MNCH interventions. Pregnant women and children are set to benefit from the various forms of health interventions which includes nutritional supplementation of Vitamin A, delivery kits, vaccination, distribution of long lasting insecticide treated nets, deworming, screening for malnutrition in the State to help reduce the prevalence of malnutrition, malaria, vaccines preventable diseases among other common causes of maternal and child mortality. The state also flagged off its massive Covid-19 vaccination campaign for person over 18 years of age. The flagging off exercise which was done by the State's Health Commissioner, Dr Betta Edu on behalf of the State Governor, Sen (Prof) Ben Ayade, targets over 900,000 children and 300,000 pregnant women across the State. The event which took place in Odukpani LGA also marked the commencement of

    Prof. Florence Banku Obi, Vice-Chancellor, University of Calabar, on Monday in Calabar promised to forge robust partnership with the British High Commission to harness Cross River’s rich forest potentialities.. Obi gave the assurance when a team from the British High Commission led by the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Gill Atkinson, paid her a courtesy visit. She expressed hope that the partnership would provide more opportunities for collaboration with employees of the Forestry Division of the institution and with other relevant stakeholders. According to her, the collaboration will attract proficient input from the academia and result in better focus and sponsorship as well as create more environmental awareness. The vice-chancellor stated that the deep awareness of the potentialities of the environment would check the menace of indiscriminate logging and other anti-climate activities. Earlier, Atkinson noted that Cross River is a border community blessed with rich vegetation and fore

  With  the rising cases of maternal and child Mortality and the need to curb the spread and mutation of the covid-19 virus while pushing for herd immunity,  the Cross River State Government with support from National Primary Healthcare Development Agency and partners has lunched the 2021 Second Round of the "Maternal New Born and Child Health week and the Covid-19 Mass vaccination in the state to summount preventable deaths challenges with the introduction of nutrient suppliments as a remedy for these preventable deaths. Flagging off the exercise in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State,the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu said, an estimate of 300,000 pregnant women and 900,000 children under the ages of 5 will benefit from this week long event which will also run concurrently with "Covid-19 Mass Vaccination Exercise" targeting eligible adults from the ages of 18 and above. She said, the government under the leadership of Senator Prof Ben Ayade

The Nigeria Orthopaedic Association whose objective is to promote, develop and project the Science, Art and Practice of Orthopaedic and Allied Trauma Surgery and Rehabilitation in Nigeria with regards to clinical services is holding her 44th Annual General Meeting and Conference in CRS after 21years.  Declaring the event open with the Theme; 'Burden Of Geriatric Trauma', His Excellency Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade has charged the Association to come together and think out of the box so they can provide solutions to highly invasive traumatic painful surgeries that is the norm in practice. In his words; "I thank the organisers of this event for choosing Calabar the fasted growing City especially in Agro Industrialisation for their 44th Annual Meeting, Orthopaedic Surgeons and Professors remains the World's greatest nightmare as the trauma that comes with their surgical interventions cannot be over emphasized. Why limit yourself to the current practice of today, can this scientif

  By Itam Offor The Cross River State Appropriation Bill 2022, christened the Budget of "Conjugated Agglutination", has scaled second reading on the flour of the Assembly. The Bill, which has a budget size of N276,279,960,667.35 (Two hundred and seventy-six Billion, Two hundred and seventy  Nine million, Nine hundred and sixty Thousand, six hundred and sixty seven Naira, thirty-five Kobo, was subsequently committed to the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation for indepth study and further legislative process. The Leader of the House, Rt. Hon. Peter Odey (Ogoja) had presented the highlights of the 2022 Budget Estimates and Appropriation Bill which was earlier presented to the House by the State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade on Friday, 29th October 2021. Odey stated that from the estimates, N92,007,302,780.40 representing 33.30% is to be spent on Recurrent Expenditure while N184,272,657,886.95 representing 66.69% is for capital Expenditure. He added that Recurrent Revenue am

Events in the recent past shows that drug abuse has been on the rise amongst young people in the Country and even in Cross River State. National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have clearly reflected a new zeal in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking in all parts of the Country, in a bid to sustain these efforts and compliment the wonderful efforts of the Agency the CRS Commissioner for Health Dr Betta Edu has declared her willingness and that of the Health Ministry to join in this fight to see how Drug Abuse which is today a societal challenge is curbed. She declared war against drug abuse in the State as the health sector will henceforth collaborate with the Drug Law Enforcement to end drug abuse. Speaking during a courtesy/advocacy visit to help accelerate this war, the Cross River State NDLEA Commander Mrs Edet Anthonia commended the Commissioner's effort and commitment towards giving cross riverians good health care delivery through her numerous achievements and ou

  Cross River State has commenced preparations for the annual program assessment of the Federal Government/World Bank STATE FISCAL TRANSPARENCY ACCOUNTABILITY & SUSTAINABILITY (SFTAS) program for results for the 2020 financial year. The SFTAS program for Cross River State operates under the guidance of the Ministry of Finance, with Asuquo Ekpenyong Jr, Commissioner for Finance, acting as Chairman of the State steering committee. For each year of the Program, in order to be eligible to receive funds for achievement of the disbursement-linked results for that year, states need to achieve the annual eligibility criteria. These criteria aim to help states achieve fiscal milestones including improved financial reporting, improved citizen’s participation in budgeting, strengthening internally generated revenue, and improved debt management capabilities amongst others.  For the 2019 assessment program, Cross River State earned $20.4million in grants. In addition to the grants received, th

  Teachers Continuous Training Institute, (TCTI) newly established by Cross River State government has conducted a subject based test and digital proficiency assessment for  teachers who applied to be employed into the Demonstration school of the institute. Speaking on the exercise, conducted recently, the Director General of the institute, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja explained that 471 sat for the subject based test but 241 were invited for the digital proficiency examination. According to Adedoja,the results of both will be used to employ teachers  who will be impacting new digital knowledge for the students of the Demonstration Secondary School.  TCTI he said, is blazing the trail in the country with the digital proficiency test for secondary school teachers which is inline with the global best practices.  "The aim is to be able to recruit teachers with skills relevant to the 21st century." 'Only teachers with digital competence can fit into the 21st teaching learning enviro

  Rt. Hon. Joseph Bassey is the Deputy Speaker of the Cross River House of Assembly. He is a third term legislator who represents Calabar South II in the House. He is one lawmaker that has a cheerful disposition and a touch of a smile when interacting with his constituents, friends and well wishers. Perhaps, he enjoys the goodwill of his people, hence his long stay in the legislative chambers. Before now, the state of the Government Primary School in Mayne Avenue, Calabar South, was an eyesore. The school got so dilapidated that it became a den for suspected hoodlums and drug addicts. But, findings revealed that he adopted the school, embarked on total renovation, completed the process and handed it over to the government through the head teacher of the school and the PTA Chairman. With this laudable initiative, the Deputy Speaker has indeed contributed his quota towards improving teaching and learning at the basic for the educational growth of the pupils. Commending the gesture of the

Ten-Cent Daisy is Mr. Okafor’s third feature film. He has hundreds of commercials to his credit, repped out of production hubs like HSI, Coppos, and GreatGuns USA. A graduate of the Art Institute of Houston, Mr. Okafor served as Design Director for Smith & Hawken, Creative Director for OSH and Macy’s (west), before founding his own hub, Watarihouse in 2002, and OHAOMA in 2017. He lives in Oakland, CA, with his wife and daughter. Three sisters from a fishing village in the West Indies take refuge in Berkeley, California, following a traumatic event that threatened to reveal a centuries-old family secret, dating back to the Middle Passage. A decade later, marooned in a foreign land, the bond between the sisters has splintered, leaving the youngest sister— the embodiment of the secret, vulnerable. Each sister is struggling to stay afloat when news from home forces them to reconnect and face the demons that drove them far from home. Below is an excerpt of the movie “Ten-Cent Daisy” bre

November 20th every year remains special as the Efik Kingdom, Cross River, and the whole of  humanity  Celebrate the Nativity of a dynamic leader, passionate, people oriented and charismatic King, His Eminence, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu v. To some the Obong is a symbol of unity, peace and customary law enforcement, but for us all in the health sector, he is an achiever, a strong voice and adhent campaigner for the actualization of Universal Health Coverage, implementation of health policies and one of our most reliable ally and social mobilizer. As you achieve this great feat, by marking yet another birthday in good health and a sound mind, we pray that this new year will bring you great tidings. Your eyes will see, your ears will hear and you will live longer to experience  the actualization of all you have campaigned for, to see that women , children and the vulnerable gain access to affordable, accessible and comprehensive Health care. Happy birthday to one of Aftica's most out

The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), South-South Caucus have solicited the support of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar in pursuit of the ideals of the Society. This position was made known when the Leader of the Caucus and one-time Chairman of the Calabar Branch of the body, Engr. Monday. T. E. Essien led other members of the professional body to pay a courtesy call on the Vice Chancellor. Engr Monday Essien, a Fellow of the Society said they were in the University to congratulate the Vice Chancellor on her emergence as the first female Vice Chancellor of the 2nd generation Ivory Tower and to seek avenues for collaborations between the professional body and the university. According to the Caucus Leader, the body is already working with the incipient faculty of Engineering in the areas of practical training and workshops for its students, adding that, they are open to doing more where necessary as the faculty prepares for the forth coming accreditation exercise. The

  It was a night of glamour as the crème de la crème of the Nigerian legislative community gathered at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Abuja, on Wednesday, for the Inde­pendent Parliamentary Excellence Award ceremony. The ceremony was to recognise, reward and celebrate lawmakers who have excelled in the task of trans­forming the lives of their constituents, while changing society positively. The awardees cutting across the state legislature, and both cham­bers of the National Assembly, who emerged in various categories, includ­ing State, and Federal Lawmakers of the Year, as well as across the various geopolitical zones, applauded the or­ganisers, Independent Newspapers Limited, publishers of Daily Inde­pendent, Saturday Independent and Sunday Independent; and African Consolidated Analytical Limited (ACAL), for the recognition which would encourage them to do more. Cross River Speaker, Rt. Hon. Eteng Williams bagged the Most Outstanding Speaker award, while Rt. Hon. (Elder) Sher­iff F

The University of Calabar has officially reacted to an obnoxious post making the rounds on social media titled “The Purported Inhuman Treatment to a Fellow Woman” describing it as spurious, baseless, and malicious.  A release issued by the Registrar of the University of Calabar, Mr Gabriel Egbe said Management decided to react to the aforesaid post with the intent of setting the records straight. The release informed that the post of the anonymous writer came on the heels of a recent action embarked upon by the Estate Unit of the University to recover the property of the institution from the family of a deceased staff in line with the housing policy of the citadel of learning.  The release cited section 1.1.4 subsection (1) of the university policy which makes provision for spouses or wards of deceased staff to stay at most one year before vacating the university’s property adding that in this case, the family being referred to has occupied the property for over four years contrary to

   The Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Florence Banku Obi, has been conferred with a Service Award by the College of Medical Sciences for her giant strides towards the development of the institution. She was conferred with the award during the College Academic Assembly/Staff Forum held at the International Conference Centre of the institution. Speaking shortly after the conferment, the Provost of the College of Medical Sciences, Prof.Victor Ansa said the award came on the heels of the Vice Chancellor’s phenomenal contributions and support for the College. He said that the Vice Chancellor, in less than one year of assumption of office, has contributed immensely to the achievements and successes recorded in the College. Prof. Ansa said the vision and mission of the Medical College is being fulfilled since she took over as the University helmsman, adding that she has created two new faculties in the College, which according to him, will further expand the frontiers of

Ugo Solomon and Ukpa Abraham, Calabar  The Permanent Secretary, Special Services, Governor’s Office Calabar,Dr Alfred Mboto, has   admonished freshers in the department of Mass Communication, University of Calabar to avoid cultism in order to wade off the  adverse effect associated with such anti social behaviour. Dr Mboto, gave the charge on Tuesday during a lecture entitled, "Campus Cultism: Dangers and the way out" for freshmen and women in the department of Mass Communication. Describing cultism as an anti social behaviour which must be avoided like a plague, he however advised students to imbibe good character  and studiousness that would place them in good light as future media professionals. "Let me congratulate all the freshers present and participating in this orientation exercise. You will agree with me that, it is not easy, at this time of our nation where cultism is very popular among the youth and with the sustained recruitment into cultism day by day, to fi

The Deputy Comptroller General of Immigration and Former Comptroller of  Cross River State,Funke Adeuyi (Retd) has described the death of her former Boss and the Deputy Comptroller General of Immigration,J.O Olaitan as a monumental loss and a vacuum that will be hard to fill. Adeuyi in a tribute to the late DCG,said My very dear Boss, It is with tears and sadness that I write this tribute on my former boss- late J.O Olaitan mni (DCG) retd when I thought I had gotten a dependable,resourceful senior colleague and trusted ally to relate with even in my retirement because of your larger than life personality. " My first contact with you was in 2011/2012 where I served as a unit head while you were the Comptroller of the Oyo State Command Nigeria Immigration Service, Ibadan.With you then were other great  seniors and colleagues like Jane Urebvu, Justina Amadu, Abdullahi Idiaro, Yarima Bako,  Abimbola-Ojo, Virginia Oyedeji, Oche,Makun and others. You created rapport by calling us our fi

The Governor of Cross River state, Sen  Ben Ayade has paid a visit to an ElderStates man and First Senate President of Nigeria Sen. Joseph Wayas in a Hospital in UK, the Governor who was Represented by the Honorable Comissioner for Health Dr Betta Edu has expressed satisfaction at the level of care which the senate President is receiving at the hospital and his speed of recovery. He expressed optimism that Senator Wayas who was looking strong and stable  will soon be discharged and allowed to return back to Nigeria where his contributions to nation building, his wealth of experience and advisory role is much needed. It would be recalled that over the last one year the Governor Sen. Ben Ayade had taken keen interest in the health and welfare of a very illustrious son from Cross River State Sen Wayas who did us proud in the first senate and had continued to play strong roles in nation building before he took ill last year. The Governor has been sending financial support to the family to

  In a bid to reach out to all eligible adults and to work harmoniously with other collaborating agencies of Government, the Cross River State Covid19 response team has visited the state command of the Nigerian Immigration Service to seek their support in raising awareness on the effect of Covid19 and the importance of vaccination. Leading the team made up of staff of the Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, representative of the World Health Organization, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency and other partners, Director General of the Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Janet Ekpenyong said, it's high time all individuals rise to the occasion to ensure mass mobilization and vaccination of citizens. She said the Nigerian  Immigration service is one of the most accessed government parastatals and bodies constantly engaging citizens and travelers ought to be among the champions of Immunization and Covid19 preventive advocate. She

The Senator representing Cross River South, Senator Gershom Bassey has come to send a warning signal to every body who thinks he depends on zoning to run for the state's plum job.  " The  South do not depend on zoning, I don't want zoning and I don't  depend on zoning. I'm ready to match any body from anywhere regardless  of the zone.  I have the guts, the contact, the grassroot support in every community and every zone to run the gubernatorial race. I have all what it takes to run. Zoning is just a moral suasion, which I felt  the south is due for. But if other zones feel otherwise, I'm  prepared to stand primaries  and election with anybody. I get so amused when I hear the insinuations that the south is not prepared, the south is lazy, the south  is broke and do not have the financial muscle to run. Tell them I'm ready. I will match anybody naira for naira, dollar  for dollar if the run outside  to get money from Bill Gate to fight me, i will run to Jeff

The National President of Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) Alumni Association, Comrade Eyam Abeng has felicitated with Rt. Hon. Legor Idagbo, Member of  the House of Representatives representing Bekwarra/ Obanliku / Obudu Federal Constituency, on the attainment of 50 years of age (Golden Jubilee), describing him as an inspiring and pragmatic leader. In a press release signed under his hand and made available to our correspondent, Comr. Abeng who doubles as the Chairman of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria  (PENGASSAN) Lagos Zone thanked God for the life of the Legislator, noting that the attainment of a Golden Jubilee was not an easy one, as it takes only the hand and sufficient grace of God to get there. In his words: "Indeed a life worth living is worth celebrating. I join your family, friends, supporters and well-wishers to thank God Almighty for the gift of life upon you as you attain a golden age of 50 today. This further prove the lo

  A Civil Society Organisation, Democracy for Good, Social and Behavioural Change, has commended the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Florence Banku Obi, for displaying exceptional integrity, transparency and steadfastness in the collation and display of votes during the Anambra governorship polls where she served as the Chief Returning Officer. In a statement signed by the Director and Secretary of the Organisation, Mr Williams Iba and Ms. Patricia Smith, the organisation described the VC as a "role model for the younger generation". "We had feelers that the election was going to be rigged to favour a certain party. Infact, we heard that the result for the election was already written in Abuja and ready for announcement. "But to our greatest surprise, the distinguished Professor did justice to the election outcome. She read the figures the way there were presented from the local government collation officers and electoral officers respectively. &

  Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr Betta Edu has been honoured with the prestigious award of "The Outstanding Personality of the Year". Dr Betta, who has been rated as a top performing commissioner in the Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade-led administration was honoured with the award in recognition of her sterling performance in the health sector and laudable contributions toward youth empowerment and development across the South South sub-region. The award was presented to the young, dynamic and delectable Dr Betta Edu by Rest Logic Nigeria Project Ambassadors Initiative organisers of the two days 2021 South South Emerging Leaders Conference held at the Conference Centre of the prestigious University of Calabar, Calabar Cross River State at the weekend. In her remarks, Dr Betta who appreciated the organisers of the event for the honour on her personality dedicated the award to His Excellency, the Cross River State Governor, Sen Prof Sir Ben Ayade, who believ

USAID, FHI360 and SIDHAS project has awarded the Cross River State Government through the Cross River state Ministry of Health for an outstanding performance which has led to drastic significant reduction in the prevalence and spread of HIV AIDS in the state. The commended the Governor Sen Ben Ayade for his Commitment to health care and even HIV management in the state. The also Commended the very proactive nature and vibrancy of the Commissioner for Health Dr Betta Edu who have worked with her team and partners to deploy strategies in combatting the Disease, which has yielded great results.  Cross River State has continued to show excellent progress in the fight against HIV & AIDS. This was disclosed by National Agency for Control of AIDS (NACA) during the week. The data released by NACA revealed  that there has been a consistent drop in HIV & AIDS prevalence rates in the state. This is in contrary to reports emanating from some sections of the media suggesting that Cross Rive

  The Director General of the National Agency for the control of AIDS, Dr. Gambo Gumel Aliyu has reiterated the agency's coordinating role in providing a conducive atmosphere for stakeholders to succeed both in the health and non-health sector towards the fight to end HIV/AIDS in the country. The Director-General spoke through the South-South zonal director of NACA, Dr Uduak Daniel during a 2-day strategic media engagement refresher and maiden NACA South South zone award held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.  According to him, after the decentralization of NACA into zones, it became needful to strategically work with the media as a key sector in the prevention component of the fight against HIV/AIDS both at the state and zonal levels. He recalled when the first strategic meeting held in Calabar, Cross River State which gave birth to the south-south HIV/AIDS Media platform which is being replicated in the six South South states of the country. Retrospectively, the NACA DG maintained

  Another electoral cycle has started and, as usual, politicians and their supporters have started jostling for positions and narratives that will favour them in the coming months. One hot topic in Cross River State is the principle of Zoning and Rotation of political offices among its various components. While some are clamouring for sequential rotation of the office of governor, others feel otherwise and both sides are marshaling their arguments accordingly. The truth, however, is immutable and timeless. It can be ignored, covered up with sophistry and battered, but in the end, it remains the ever-shining light that leads discerning men and women to understanding and freedom. I, therefore, wish to lend my opinion, respectfully, to the ongoing discussions as follows. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Cross River State currently has 3 senatorial districts. Southern Senatorial District(S), Central Senatorial District (C), and Northern Senatorial District (N). 1. In 1999, the Zoning or Rotation of t