Former Akwa Ibom State Governor
Godswill Akpabio yesterday spent hours at the National Hospital in Abuja after
a car accident . He was discharged at about 5.10pm, accompanied out of the
hospital by Governor Udom Emmanuel and Senator Theodore Orji.
They left in the governor’s
official car.
Akpabio, who is also Senate
Minority Leader, was said to be on his way to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport, to catch a flight when the accident occurred.
He was rushed to the National
Hospital in the city, where doctors described his condition as stable.
Akpabio’s car ran into a convoy
of a U.S. diplomat.
A Federal Road Safety Commission
(FRSC) personnel, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Akpabio may have
suffered some injuries in the chest region “due to the way he held his chest
after the incident”.
The FRSC operatives also said
“from the look of things other occupants of the vehicles in the convoy and
Akpabio’s driver did not seem to have sustained any injury”.
The officer said he was at the
scene of the accident around 7.30 am near Bolingo Hotels on the Abuja Airport
Road in the Central Business District of the Federal Capital territory (FCT).
It was learnt that Akpabio was on
his way overseas to visit his family when the accident happened.
One of the early callers at the
National Hospital was the Senate Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Biodun Olujimi.
Mrs. Olujimi said she was told by
an official at the hospital that the Akwa Ibom North West lawmaker was in a
stable condition.
Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel, who was at the hospital,
declined comments.
The hospital’s Chief Information
Officer Hajia Rabiah Labaran, said Akpabio was brought to the hospital by some
FRSC officers.
Labaran said: “He (Akpabio) was
brought in this morning after he had a car crash as I learnt. He was brought in
from the Bolingo Hotels junction where a vehicle crashed into his own vehicle
from behind.
“Luckily enough when they brought
him after the preliminary check –up, it was found that he did not have any
serious injury.
”He was talking when he was
brought in and the medical team that attended to him gave him necessary
attention at the trauma unit.
“I learnt that as at this
afternoon, (12:30pm), he had been taken to the private wing of the hospital for
proper care but there was no serious injury.
“It is something he can get over
in a few days. He is recuperating. He was with his driver but the driver did
not sustain any injury.”
Last year, Akpabio’s convoy was
arrested in Abuja by security operatives for driving against traffic. At the
time, Akpabio was governor. The convoy was en route to the Three Arms Zone, the
area of Abuja where the administrative offices of the executive, legislative
and judicial arms of the federal government are located. The drivers
encountered a mild traffic jam close to the Nigeria Police Headquarters and
chose the one way.
Reports show that at the time of
the incident, the then President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was leaving Aso Rock
Villa for the National Executive Council meeting of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) at the Wadata House national secretariat of the party. Security
operatives blocked the road as the presidential convoy moved towards Shehu
Shagari Way. Other road users halted movement to make way for the presidential
convoy, Akpabio’s convoy was unwilling to queue. They made a detour and speed
against traffic at a high, blaring siren and swerving from side-to-side.
Heavily armed soldiers and police
officers arrested the convoy. The convoy was released with a warning, after the
intervention of security operatives attached to the then governor.
Credit: Nation
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