C'River: House of Assembly Fumes Over Spate of Kidnappings, Calls for Decisive Action
Edem ITA
The Cross River House of Assembly has called for urgent and drastic measures aimed at tackling the recent upsurge of kidnappings and other security breaches prevalent in the state.
The position of the House was conveyed in a resolution adopted following a motion on urgent public interest brought to the floor by the member, representing Abi state constituency, Rt Hon Davis Etta.
While condemning the scourge of kidnappings rattling the state in recent times, the House appealed to the Cross River chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, currently on a work to rule action to press for the immediate and unconditional release of their member kidnapped since last week to shelve the action in the interest of humanity.
Addressing plenary, sponsor of the motion and majority leader in the House, Davis Etta lamented that despite the humanitarian disposition of Professor Ekanem who has spent 35 years dedicated to sacrificial service to humanity, she was whisked away by kidnappers while in the line of duty attempting to save lives.
He canvassed for resolute actions from the government targeted at checkmating the raising tide of kidnapping currently ravaging the state given the dangers it posed to current efforts by the state government to attract investment to the state.
He revealed that" Professor Ekanem, who is a senior consultant of neurology at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital is diabetic and hypertensive, subjecting someone who has devoted her life towards saving the lives of others is dehumanizing. As we speak, she is being denied access to her medications and prescribed foods. We must demand her immediate release"
Speaker of the Assembly, Rt Hon Elvert Ayambem who presided over the session decried the alarming increase in the number of abductions without adequate response from security agencies describing the trend as unbearable.
In his words, "The 10th Assembly under my watch will explore every viable option while leveraging on the robust synergy between the other two arms of government to confront this menace"
Members who spoke expressed worries over the incessant abductions of medical doctors especially in Cross River stressing that the scenario, if left unchecked, will aggravate the disturbing shortage of doctors in the state, thereby escalating the brain drain syndrome rattling the sector in the country.
