Shabby Work Threatens Safety of Equipment, Staff at Multi-Million Naira Model Health Centre in Akwa Ibom
By Ekemini Simon
Despite the grand inauguration of the Model Health Centre in Eyulor, Uruefong/Oruko, Akwa Ibom State, on May 21, 2025, investigations have revealed that the facility is facing significant challenges due to alleged shabby work.
Medical equipment are under threat of rot and staff do not enjoy good working conditions due to execution of a project that has left visible gaps.
The cost of the project which stands at N340 million according to the 2024 revised budget of Akwa Ibom State had a 73.5 percent release (N250 million) between January -September 2024 as reported in the 2025 Approved Budget of the State.
The project is in the budget of the Ministry of Health and is supervised by the Akwa Ibom State Direct Labour Committee Chaired by Governor Umo Eno with Mr. Morgan Ekanem as the Head of Operations.
When TheMail Newspaper visited the Model Health Centre a week after the inauguration of the facility and a return visit in late June, it was observed that most of the rooms within the building experience roof leakage causing torrent of water to flood the rooms anytime it rains thus threatening the safety of the medical equipment provided in the facility.
Besides the challenge of the leaky roof, it was also discovered that some door locks within the medical facility and staff quarters were not provided in the building thus leaving security gaps for the safety of the medical equipment within the facility.
The Officer-in-charge of the facility, Mrs. Rose Umoh said due to the leakage of the roof, it is usually difficult to work anytime it rains since the rooms will be flooded. She also noted that the failure to provide door locks for the facility especially within the staff quarters has discouraged her from moving into the building due to the safety concerns for her life and property.
Community Displeased with Quality of Health Centre
The communities using the model health centre have described the facility as substandard and consequently expressed displeasure over the quality of facility provided for them as compared to other model health centres across the State.
The Deputy Village Council Chairman of Eyulor Community, Elder Okon Okpoyo blamed the roof leakage on the substandard roofing materials used by the contractor.
“We noticed that the roof sheets the contractor brought to roof the building weren’t new roof sheets. It was taken from somewhere. We saw holes in those roof sheets. With those kinds of roofs, a good job can never be done”, Okpoyo said. The claim that there were holes on the roof sheets used in roofing the facility was not independently verified by TheMail Newspaper.
He said that the reason the community could not stop the alleged substandard material from being used at the facility had stemmed from the fact that the contractor who he said must have had strong links with the government ignored the invitation of the community when he was called.
The Village Vice Chairman who also complained that the solar power provided is not working, door locks not provided and television not provided as other model health centres added ” We are calling on the government to ensure the contractor goes back to the facility, get off all the roof sheets and use new roof sheets for his work so that the medical equipment there will not spoil. Before he is allowed to roof the building again, we must look at the type of roofs he brings.
” Most importantly, we need the Governor to revisit this facility and see things for himself. If things are allowed this way, it will not serve the purpose it was built.”
Contacted, the Council Chairman of Uruefong/Oruko local government area, Chief Uno Uno confirmed that he is aware of the infrastructural challenges identified in this report. He noted that he had shared his concerns with the Ministry of Health with the hope that actions will be taken to rectify it.
Contractor Denies Shabby Work, Allege Blackmail Against Government
When TheMail Newspaper contacted the Contractor of the project, Pastor David Umanah of Valuetrus Properties on phone, he denied that the work he undertook had defects. He said the claim stemmed from the fact that someone intends to blackmail the government.
The Contractor insisted on going together with the reporter to visit the facility which he declined due to security concerns.
When asked if he had gotten a certificate of completion for his contract as a proof that his work was executed satisfactorily, Umanah said ” I don’t know you from anywhere” and hung up the call.
We are on Top of the Situation – Government
When contacted, the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ekem Emmanuel said that the staff of the facility, and leadership of the local government area have reported the defeats.
He said beyond that, the project monitoring team had inspected the project, confirmed the defects and asked the contractor to carry out needed corrections on the facility before he receives his payment balance.
Emmanuel added “The government has a contracting process. One of those processes is that part of the contracting sum is retained by the government. It is kept over a period of time for eventualities like this. This is because it may not even be a fraudulent act. It may just be the ordinary cause of the event. This is so that if something is detected that is not good, that money is kept back as a deterrent so that the contractor can go back and fix it. I can tell you that under the administration of Governor Umo Eno, this is enforced religiously.
“We are not worried about it because if the contractor does not correct them, there is a time limit which after that, the government will utilize those funds retained to do those jobs and the contractor cannot get paid. I don’t think it is a problem. But it is good that you are vigilant and have pointed it out. It is part of the citizens’ responsibility.”
The Commissioner who declined to comment on the amount so far paid to the contractor and the amount left as the retained amount said the details of the sum is not handy for him and not also the subject of the issue. He however said he can authoritatively state that the retained amount is enough to cover the defect.
He added “If you ask if we would pay the contractor, I will say yes but only when the time the contract allows for retention has elapsed. Is there a process to hold such contractors to account? Yes. Without holding a brief for the contractor, there are times you thought you have done something well, but it turns out that it wasn’t done well. When you are an honest person, you just admit that you thought this would be okay but now it is not okay. Now, we are taking steps to make them okay.”
When this reporter also reached out to the Head of Operations of the Direct Labour Committee supervising the project, Mr. Morgan Ekanem, he said he was not aware of the situation but will take action immediately to verify the claim and ensure the defects are corrected. “I can assure you that before next week, everything will be addressed “, he said. Ekanem also said that there is no cause for alarm due to the retention arrangement of the administration which covers six months after inauguration to address any defect noticed in government executed projects.