Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has expressed deep concern over the deaths of woman and her child during labour at the General Hospital in Ikot Ekpene local government area of Akwa Ibom State.
A viral video circulated by the sister of the deceased shows the woman struggling unassisted by medics to give birth alone and later bleeding to death.
The House of Assembly committee on health viewed the sad incident as a result of negligence by doctors on call duty, and has issued a directive to the Ministry of Health and the Hospitals Management Board (HMB) to take immediate disciplinary action against the medical personnel on duty on that day.
Chairman of the committee and member representing Ibiono Ibom State Constituency, Hon. Moses Essien, gave the directive during a meeting with the commissioner for health, Dr. Ekem John and top officials of the health ministry and hospital board.
He described the incident as a “preventable tragedy” and a direct consequence of professional lapses by on-duty staff.
“The House of Assembly will not rest until sanctions are meted out,” Hon. Essien assured, stressing that the health commissioner must take responsibility and make necessary recommendations to the governor.
“You are the head of the ministry of health, and the cursor is on you,” he said.
Essien further queried the continued infrastructure and personnel shortfalls at the hospital, despite the Assembly’s allocation of N500 million in the 2025 budget for its rehabilitation.
He decried the absence of essential services like constant power supply, water and adequate medical staff, stating that such inadequacies were inimical to Governor Eno’s ARISE Agenda in the health sector.
Our Correspondent learnt the House committee’s stance followed an earlier oversight visit to the hospital which revealed unacceptable operational gaps and lack of accountability, orchestrating public outrage and calls for reform.
The health commissioner described the deaths as “unfortunate,” while defending the competence of the medical staff involved, disclosing that the governor had already set up an investigative panel to probe the incident thoroughly and ensure accountability.
He assured that justice would be served, noting that hospital records had been secured to prevent tampering and all relevant staff had been issued queries.
