18th January, 2015
Jethro Ibileke/Benin
A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo state chapter, Saturday lost his life in a ghastly auto accident involving an 18 seater bus in which the party members were travelling and a commercial bus bearing campaign posters of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Ovia federal constituency.
According to a press statement issued by the state publicity secretary of APC, Comrade Godwin Erhahon, the commercial bus which bears the campaign posters of Ms. Omosede Igbinedion, younger sister of Chief Lucky Igbinedion, former governor of the state, who is also candidate of the PDP in the coming election, allegedly rammed into the bus conveying the APC members from its side while overtaking it.
The APC bus was said to have somersaulted several times, leading to the death of the APC member whose identity is yet to be made known, while 12 other occupants of the bus, all members of Ovia North-East wing of APC, sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The accident victims were said to be travelling to Okada town to attend an APC campaign rally. The driver of the commercial bus was said to have been fatally injured in the accident which occurred near Okada town.
Commenting on the accident, the state chairman of APC, Barr. Anselm Ojezua, announced the postponement of all rallies scheduled for the three local government areas, namely, Ovia South-West, Ovia South-East and Egor.
As at the time of filing this report, the state deputy governor, Dr. Pius Odubu, Barr. Ojezua and other party leaders in the state were said to have visited the injured party members who are currently being treated at an undisclosed hospital.
The statement by Comrade Erhahon recalled that the accident is “one of the many that have occurred on that road since the prodigal administration of PDP led by Chief Lucky Igbinedion abandoned the dualization project after paying full contact sum of N1.6 billion in 2006.
It further noted that only one of the lanes was shodily constructed halfway, “whereas records inherited from the PDP government of which Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu was secretary claim that the road has been fully dualized as at May 2007 when they left office.