Members of Staff of the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health have been directed to keep hospital environments clean.
The Acting Commissioner for Health, Dr. Richard Nnabu, gave the directive in a meeting he held with the staff of the Ministry at conference hall, Ministry of Health, Abakaliki.
Dr. Nnabu, who until his new appointment was the Special Assistant(SA) to the governor on medical services, said the meeting came at the instance of the governor, who earlier directed that the staff of the Ministry and hospital management Board should keep the hospitals clean, and plant trees.
Dr. Nnabu, who said he has set up a Committee to enforce the directive, warned all the staff of the Ministry to comply strictly with the directives or risk being sanctioned, as his administration would not tolerate laxity.
He described governor David Umahi as a visionary leader who has touched the lives of the people in all spheres of governance through his purposeful leadership.
In his words, “The meeting was at the instance of the governor. He charged us with the responsibility of going to the ministry and hospitals to keep their environments clean.
“He emphasised so much on environmental cleanliness, the cleanliness of the hospitals. He went further to tell us that everybody in the hospital should go back and plant trees, one man and two trees.
“He warned us that everybody should take his job seriously, and directed that as a Ministry we should set up a committee that will supervise what he talked about, and gave the committee two weeks to deliver on the mandate given to them. That is why we are here”.
On his priority as an Acting Commissioner of health, Dr. Nnabu, said, as a public health physician, he is going to dwell much on public health by emphasising much on prevention, so that people don’t fall sick, not to talk of going to hospital.
The committee to enforce the directives of the governor include; the Acting commissioner, Dr Richard Nnabu, the Acting Permanent Secretary, Dr. Joseph Eko, the Director of Medical Services, Director of Public Health, Director of Nursing services, Director of Laboratory Sciences and two other most senior medical officers in the 13 general hospitals of the state.
The committee has two weeks to deliver on the mandate.