1,240 nurses applied for the 153 vacancies while 184 persons applied to fill the 22 advertised slots for pharmacists.

No fewer than 32,341 candidates have applied to fill the 206 health sector vacancies advertised by the Cross River Government.

This is contained in a document obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar, the state capital, on Thursday.

According to the document, as of the 2 September deadline for submission of application, a total of 49 doctors had applied to fill the 31 available spaces.

"1,240 nurses applied for the 153 vacancies while 184 persons applied to fill the 22 advertised spaces for pharmacists," the document revealed.

The document further showed that although vacancies were not advertised for medical laboratory scientists, a total of 776 candidates applied for employment in that category.

NAN reports that the state government also received job applications from other health sector fields where vacancies were not advertised.

It would be recalled that in August, Henry Ayuk, the Commissioner for Health, announced that Governor Bassey Otu had given approval for the hiring of 206 medical staff members.

He said that the gesture was part of the state government's efforts to enhance healthcare delivery in the state.

In a recent interview with NAN, Mr. Ayuk said that the Mr Otu-led government met only 20 medical doctors in the employ of the state when it came on board.

He said that aside the employment of personnel, the state government had earmarked a number of primary health centres for rehabilitation.

"These efforts are in line with our government's mantra of putting the people first. We are committed to improving the wellbeing of our people," he said.

(NAN)