The Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, has showered the twins born by a prison inmate in Calabar, Cross River State, with a cash gift of N1 million.
The gift was announced on Saturday by the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Inyang Asibong, who said it was a special Easter gift to the woman.
The inmate put to bed on Thursday.
The babies are a boy and a girl.
Apart from the money, other gift items were said to have been donated.
Ayade was quoted as saying that the children who were named after him and his wife – Ben and Linda – deserved care and love.
Said Asibong on behalf of Ayade: “Right now, the mother of the twins is not with us because we had to refer her to a higher facility for further medical attention. But she had a successful Caesarean Section.
“We have these two beautiful babies here with us. We will be following them up regularly and today we are here to present a special gift for their upkeep.
“We are donating a cash amount of N1 million and these items to the hospital to help in the management of these children until the mother is well, safe and sound.
“Further, we are going to have discussions with the prison authority to know the next step in what to do.
“But as we speak, the state government is handling the care of the children because we care and we are in the season of Easter.
“The governor has executive powers, we are going to work with our social welfare unit to try and see the extent of the crime and know if the mother can be pardoned because of these two beautiful children,’’ he said.
The medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr. Etim Ayi, praised the governor for the gifts.
Ayi said that the babies were delivered in the facility through a Caesarean Section before the mother was referred to a higher facility due to some complications.
“The mother of the twins is an inmate. She was brought here in labour with some complications.
“But we had to deliver her here with the help of some physician before referring her to a higher facility for further medication.
“As we speak, the mother is recovering quite well and the babies are also fine. We just received the Easter gifts and cash donation for the upkeep of the children,’’ he said.
