The Cross River State Government has intensified preparations to host the South-South regional launch of the National Community Food Bank Initiative, with a high-level stakeholder engagement convened to coordinate logistics, responsibilities and operational arrangements ahead of the planned presidential visit.
The meeting, held on Monday, August 10, 2026, at the Ministry of Health Headquarters in Calabar, brought together key government officials and heads of relevant agencies to review preparations for the regional launch scheduled for the first week of September.
Addressing the meeting, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk, said the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its focus on food security and improving access to food among vulnerable populations. According to him, “the Federal Government is focused on the Renewed Hope Agenda, with a key focus on food security and ensuring that people, particularly hard-to-reach populations in local government areas, have adequate food all year round.”
Dr. Ayuk said the Community Food Bank Initiative was coming directly from the Presidency through the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, adding that Cross River was prepared to host the South-South regional launch in the first week of September. He also noted that the state’s health budget had risen from less than five per cent to more than 10 per cent under Governor Bassey Edet Otu’s administration, reflecting broader reforms in the sector.
The Commissioner directed officials to ensure proper documentation and budgetary planning for the initiative, saying, “Please let us ensure a memo is raised and submitted for proper records and budget preparation.”
Providing further update, the Director-General of the Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Vivien Otu, disclosed that Governor Bassey Edet Otu had approved the establishment of warehouses for the initiative, adding that construction of the National Community Food Bank at the Agency’s facility in Ediba had progressed beyond 50 per cent completion.
Dr. Otu said inspection visits would also be undertaken in Ikom and Ogoja, while an advance team led by the National Coordinator of the National Committee for Food Bank, Dr. Mutahali Mai, would arrive ahead of the launch to train local teams on beneficiary enrolment and programme implementation.
She explained that the enrolment would particularly target malnourished children below six years, pregnant women and lactating mothers, who constitute priority vulnerable groups under the initiative.
The Director-General of the Cross River State Signage and Advertising Agency, Ubong Sam, pledged cross-sectoral agency support for the programme, while the Special Adviser on Events, Effiong Ekpenyong, contributed to deliberations on event coordination, logistics and administrative arrangements to ensure effective planning for the regional launch.
The State Security Adviser, Major General Okoi Ubi Obono (Rtd.), reviewed security, logistics and crowd-management arrangements, assuring stakeholders that “appropriate safety protocols and structured overflow areas are fully integrated into the event planning” to ensure a safe and seamless experience.
By Kingsley Agim
