Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has settled hospital bills of the victims of Dr Ogbonnaya Onu’s convoy accident at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.
The victims who also received N100,000 cash gift each from the Governor were in pains following the serious injuries they sustained when the convoy of the Minister of Science and Technology rammed into their vehicle.
Chief of Staff to the governor, Offor Okorie, and the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Daniel Umezurike, made the cash donations to the victims on their hospital beds.
Umezurike, who spoke to journalists in the hospital after the cash donations said, “The governor sent us here to give N100,000 each to the victims of the accident. They are 20 in number, 16 persons were brought to hospital.
“What happened last (penultimate) Wednesday precisely around 1-2:pm was a ghastly accident involving the convoy of the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and a public transport bus that loaded from Abakaliki to Uburu. On their way, before they got to Nkwagu Military cantonment barracks, the driver of the convoy was on a top speed and that was the eyewitness’ account and he veered off his own lane and ran into the bus and the passengers sustained varying degrees of injuries ranging from multiple fractures to softy tissues injuries. They were immediately rushed to Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (FETHA 2).
“Immediately I was contacted, I rushed to the hospital, contacted the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital and made sure that all the medical assistance needed were given to them. I thank God that no life was lost because it was quite a ghastly accident and seeing the victims today, they are responding very well to treatment. The medical team has been attending to them. We are happy with the management of FETHA for the care they have given to them so far.
“After attending to them, I reached out to my governor, who also rushed to the hospital to see them but by the time he came, the minister had left for Abuja after receiving treatment. He said he wanted to be taken care of in Abuja.
“Today again, the governor sent the Chief of Staff and I to come and see the victims again and make donations of N100,000 to each of the patients to take care of their feeding and other logistic and has also undertaken to take care of the hospital bills of the persons that were affected. In the whole, both the person in the bus and those affected in the minister’s convoy, they are 20 in number. But four of them were very stable. They didn’t have any atom of injury. We thank God the four of them that were stable were students, boys and girls.”
Recall that Onu, former Abia State Governor , former National Chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party(ANPP)and current Nigerian Minister of Science and Technology was in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital recently for a rally of the All Progressives Congress tagged “All Ebonyians for Buhari” organised by Women and Youth support groups for re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari when his convoy ran into travelers who were going to Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state on a Hiace Bus.
Onu, after addressing the crowd that attended the rally, left to meet up with a private jet he came with. But on getting to military cantonment axis of the Abakaliki/Afikpo highway, his convoy collided with the passenger bus. Sixteen persons, including his own driver and that of the bus carrying the travelers, were seriously injured.
The Minster was said to be unconscious and was immediately rushed to VIP ward of Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki 2(FETHA) where he was revived.
The incident, however, made stakeholders of APC in the state to hurriedly drive off from Nkwagu Ugbala grand arena, Mile 50 Abakaliki, where they were entertaining supporters of the party the Minister came to address to rush to the scene and ascertain true situation of things.
