The leadership of the Nigerian Medical Students Association, NIMSA, yesterday, decried what it described as a lack of empathy by the Cross River State government, lamenting that no official from the state government visited or called the victims or their families since Saturday’s fatal incident.

The association disclosed that only the Senator representing the Southern senatorial district of the state, Sen. Asuquo Ekpeyong Jr., visited the affected persons and even paid some bills and transport fares for 10 persons involved in the incident to return to their various destinations.

Speaking on the telephone, yesterday, National President of NIMSA, Dr Ejim Egba said it was disheartening that three days after the fatal accident which claimed the lives of three of his colleagues, the state government was yet to reach out to the association, survivors or families of the victims.

He said: “I am worried and it is very disheartening that after three days since the incident happened, nobody or official of the Cross River State government has reached out to us.

“It seems they are not empathic about what happened. Closing down the resort or suspending activities of boat cruises is not enough, they should at least reach out to those affected or concerned.

“I mean, this incident happened in the paradise city, the home of tourism and hospitality, yet no call, no visit the hospital. In fact, the people who were in the hospital have been discharged, only Sen. Asuquo Ekpeyong, visited and gave money as a Senator not as a representative of the state government.

“I feel sad and heartbroken because I’m a son of the soil and I came here with my colleagues also in a bid to explore my state, yet they died and no one cared.

“We shall keep monitoring the resort, if they open the place without putting the necessary safety measures in place, we will raise the alarm because we don’t want such an incident to reoccur in that place ever again,” Egba said.

A government official, who didn’t want his name in print said: “This is an unfortunate incident, but we all know that this administration is about the people and the people alone. The government will surely respond, but we are already taking steps which were why the place was shut down in the first place. We will do the needful accordingly.” (Vanguard, excluding headline)

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