Cross River; Minister Visits The Vandalized Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital In Calabar

After so many days the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital was vandalized, the Minister of State for Health visited the hospital on Saturday and urged the federal government to pay attention to the mental conditions of the people.

He said it in a statement he made at the hospital in Calabar. When he saw the destruction caused in the hospital as a result of protest, he described the vandalism as mindless.

“It doesn’t seem to me that anyone rational enough would even contemplate visiting the kind of carnage and devastation of this nature on this kind of institution that is meant to care for the mental health of the society.

“Though the hospital belongs to the Federal Government, it is in Cross River; we need to talk of what the governor, development partners, non-governmental organisations and indeed everyone can do to assist in bringing this hospital back.

“I have seen the damage myself and on getting back to Abuja, I will let the Minister of Health know the extent of destruction and we will put heads together and also see Mr President,’’ he said.

Gov. Ayade was well represented by his deputy, Prof. Ivara Esu, and he sent his word as he welcomed the minister to his state.

He added that he would be deceiving the minister if he pretended that the state could repair the federal institution as it was finding it difficult to repair properties belonging to the state that were vandalised during the protest.

“Initially, we were making promises to assist organisations that suffered losses during the protest, but at a point, we saw that we could not carry it anymore,’’ he said.