The Akwa Ibom State government has declared a state of emergency in the health sector and directed the upgrade of medical facilities across the state, as well as recruitment of 2,000 healthcare workers and re-engagement of retired medical professionals on contract.
This is just as the State Executive Council (SEC) at the weekend approved a supplementary budget of N695 billion, raising the original N995bn 2025 budget to N1.65 trillion, according to the commissioner for information, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Umanah.
The SEC directed that health training institutions should be upgraded, with new measures taken to strengthen the healthcare delivery system.
To oversee the emergency regime, an inter-ministerial steering committee chaired by the commissioner for health, Dr. Ekem Emmanuel John, was constituted, drawing other commissioners from key ministries, the Head of the Civil Service (HoCS) and senior health officials.
The SEC presided over by Governor Umo Eno at the Exco Chamber of Government House, Uyo, said the resolution became necessary to accommodate new exigencies and inflationary issues in contract awards for the year 2025.
The approval, LEADERSHIP Sunday learnt, followed a memorandum from the ministry of budget and economic planning seeking an augmentation of the 2025 budget to realign priorities and cater for emerging government expenditure.
With the adjustment, recurrent expenditure now stands at N125.6 billion, while capital expenditure is pegged at N569.3 billion.
Other resolutions reached at the meeting, according to the commissioner who addressed journalists at the end of the meet included the amendment of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) from N980 billion to N1.7 trillion in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Law.
“The supplementary budget will cover the implementation of the new minimum wage, allowances for NYSC members, emergency flood and erosion control, ongoing projects impacted by inflation, new infrastructure projects, Ibom CNG mass transit buses, as well as funding for newly created ministries and flagship initiatives such as the Tree Crop Revolution (TCR), ARISE Shopping City, and the development of housing estates,” he said.
“Council further fixed October 15, 2025, for the launch of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the Akwa Ibom Geographic Information System (AKWAGIS).
“The TSA will streamline revenue collection, block leakages, and enhance fiscal transparency, while AKWAGIS is expected to revolutionise land management and fast-track the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) through digitization,” he added.
