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Tag: #Godwin Iyala

  • C’River Deputy Governor Odey Condoles With Godwin Iyala Over Mother’s Death

    C’River Deputy Governor Odey Condoles With Godwin Iyala Over Mother’s Death

     

    The Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Rt. Hon. Peter Odey, on Friday, at Forté David in Ushara-Gakem, Bekwerra Local Government Area, offered his condolences to Mr. Godwin Iyala, Director General of the State Health Insurance Scheme, on the loss of his beloved mother, Late Mother Theresa Okpele-Iyala.

    The late Mother Okpele-Iyala, known for her strong business acumen, generosity, and nurturing spirit, passed away on July 12th, 2024, at the age of 84.

    In a condolence message to the Director General of State Health Insurance Scheme, Sir Godwin Iyala, KSJi, JP, the Deputy Governor said: “Your mother was a woman of exceptional character, a devout Catholic whose faith was the cornerstone of her life. As a chef and home builder, she not only nourished bodies but also nurtured hearts, creating a home filled with love, warmth, and peace. Her simplicity and contentment were testaments to a life well-lived, grounded in values that many aspired to but few truly embodied.

    “Madam Okpele-Iyala’s legacy as a peace-loving woman and a firm yet loving disciplinarian will continue to live on in the lives of those who she touched”

    Odey further stated that, “though her time on this earth was shorter than wished, we must take comfort in knowing that the value of life is not measured by its length but by the profound impact one makes during their time”

    He encouraged the Iyala family to find comfort in the knowledge that their mother lived a fulfilling life, dedicated to spreading love, compassion, and kindness to her family and community.

    Deputy Governor’s Press Unit, Calabar

  • AyadeCare: CRSHIA Activates More Enrollment Centres

    AyadeCare: CRSHIA Activates More Enrollment Centres

     

    By Kingsley Agim

    As enrollment into the State Health Insurance Scheme begins, the Cross River State Health Insurance Agency (CRSHIA) has activated more Enrollment Centres for ease of access to the exercise.

    A release by the Agency’s Director-General, Chief Godwin Iyala revealed that the State Ministry of Health Headquarters, General Hospital, Calabar, New Secretariat Complex – Calabar, Primary Health Centre – Mayne Avenue, Primary Health Centre – Ediba, Primary Health Centre – Akim, Primary Health Centre – Big Qua, Primary Health Centre – Diamond, Primary Health Centre – Edim Otop, Primary Health Centre – Ikot Ansa, Primary Health Centre – Kasuk, Primary Health Centre – Ikot Effanga, Primary Health Centre – Ikot Omin, Primary Health Centre – Ikot Ishie, and Bogobiri as the new Enrollment Centres.

    Chief Iyala further enjoined residents of the State to go out en masse to enrol in readiness to access health care services.

    The DG pledged the commitment of his Agency, in collaboration with the Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency and other critical stakeholders will leave no stone unturned in actualizing Governor Ben Ayade’s avowed commitment to providing quality, affordable and accessible healthcare for all residents of the State, adding that with the emergence of AYADECARE, the much anticipated Universal Health Coverage has finally birthed in the State.

  • Gakem Is The Symbol Of Nigeria’s Unity, Unfortunately Nigeria Has Not Deemed Necessary To Honor The Memory Of This Historic Town – Jalingo

    Gakem Is The Symbol Of Nigeria’s Unity, Unfortunately Nigeria Has Not Deemed Necessary To Honor The Memory Of This Historic Town – Jalingo

    By Agba Jalingo – Lagos

    On This Day In 1967, Gakem Spoke To The World…

    On this fateful and historic day, 6 July 1967, federal troops under the command of Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon, crossed over to Gakem which was then part of Biafra land, and fired the first shots at unarmed civilians at “Ushara Hills” and consequently ignited a bloody civil war that lasted for 30months.

    Gakem is a community in Bekwara LGA in northern Cross River state. The demarcation between Gakem and its Benue neighbours, Vandeikya is a line of Melina trees popularly known as the “Lugard Wall”, named after then colonial governor-general, Lord Lugard, during whose reign the trees were planted.

    In his book, The Forgotten Lunch Pad: Old Ogoja Province and the Untold Story of the Nigerian Civil War, Nkrumah Bakong-Obi drew attention to the abandoned relics that dot the epicentre of that war in Gakem Bekwara.

    According to Bankong-Obi, “These relics are potential incoming spinning resources that self-imposed blindness, denial of our past and short-sightedness have prevented us from tapping into. I have challenged Nigerian leaders and indeed others who have managed this country in various spheres to tell the world why Gakem, where the first shot was fired has remained a desolate town. Virtually all parts of the defunct Ogoja province still bear scars of the war that swept through the area. The trenches are filling up, the Elekpa pond which the soldiers appropriated from the natives and other scars of war are still in Gakem, Obudu, Yala, Yakurr and other places in the former province. The implementation of the reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation policy didn’t get to Ogoja where the physical trouble began. No form of rehabilitation – physical or psychological has been extended to the area to help fix the problems that the war created.

    “It is disheartening that over fifty years after the civil war ended, not even a brick has been laid in Gakem to symbolize the recognition of that unfortunate event. It is even more sobering when one thinks that the bacons demarcating northern from southern Nigeria are still interred in Gakem, Ogoja, Obudu and other peripheral areas of the present Cross River State. It is only intelligent to say that Gakem is the symbol of Nigeria’s unity. Unfortunately, Nigeria has not deemed it important to honor the memory of this historic town.”

    Someday, we know that the deed will be done….

    Yours sincerely,
    Citizen Agba Jalingo.

    #GakemToTheWorld
    #DontEraseHistory
    #OurHistoryOurHeritage