Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, has approved the recruitment of 40 medical doctors for the state’s public hospitals and the employment of 25 workers into the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation as part of efforts to strengthen public institutions and improve service delivery.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Ayuk, said the recruitment of the doctors was aimed at addressing manpower shortages and improving access to quality healthcare across the state’s 17 public hospitals.
Ayuk, who disclosed this yesterday, said the recruitment would cover 20 Medical Officers, 10 Senior Medical Officers and 10 Consultant Medical Specialists, with the vacancies to be advertised and filled by the Cross River State Civil Service Commission in line with established procedures.
He explained that the newly recruited doctors would benefit from the recently approved 100 per cent Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), which he said would improve the welfare of medical personnel, attract qualified professionals and enhance retention of skilled doctors in the state.
According to him, the additional manpower would ensure that each of the state’s 17 public hospitals has an average of three to four doctors, thereby improving the quality, efficiency and accessibility of healthcare services.
In a related development, Commissioner for Information, Dr Erasmus Ekpang, disclosed that Governor Otu had approved the employment of 25 permanent staff into the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation, publishers of the Nigerian Chronicle and Weekend Chronicle.
Ekpang said the recruitment followed the renovation and remodelling of the corporation’s headquarters, adding that the process would also be handled by the Civil Service Commission.
He further disclosed that the governor had approved the engagement of 30 ad hoc workers to begin operations at the newly installed Government Printing Press located within the corporation’s premises.
The commissioner said the temporary workers would oversee production activities for three months, after which the government may consider absorbing them into the permanent workforce.
He added that the interventions were expected to strengthen the corporation’s workforce, improve production capacity, increase revenue generation and reposition the state-owned media organisation for better service delivery.