The Abia Government on Tuesday announced the cancellation of the preliminary test sessions for students of the School of Nursing, Amachara and the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr Okey Kanu, disclosed this during a news conference on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting in Umuahia.

Some students of the schools had on Thursday protested and alleged that the examinations were manipulated by their various schools. The students called for the cancellation of the examination.

Mr Kanu said that the cancellation was done by the government based on allegations of wrongdoings during the exercise.

“As a responsive government, a committee was set and the preliminary report of the committee showed that the exams be cancelled while investigations continue,” he added.

Mr Kanu said that the government committed to promoting transparency in its activities.

“Rest assured that very soon there will be another exam to ensure that all the issues associated with the problem are put right,” he stated.

The Principal Secretary to the Governor, Mr Chinenye Mba, said the committee had met with stakeholders and leaders of both institutions to ascertain what went wrong during the examination.

“After reviewing all the information that had been gathered from all the concerned parties, it was clear that the examination could have been conducted better to maintain the integrity expectation of an examination.

“We are still looking into the matter to ascertain exactly what went wrong or during the examination and how these things can be corrected,” Mr Mba said.

Also, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma, said that the government had set up the right machinery to intervene in the issue.

Mr Ekeoma said that the intervention of the government was in tandem with the promises made by Dr Alex Otti during the inauguration of the present administration.

He said that the administration had declared a state of emergency in the health sector upon assumption of office, and urged stakeholders to support the government’s efforts to transform the sector.

(NAN)