*as Ngige visits survivors in hospital, funds treatment
From Chuks Collins, Awka
Nov 3,2013
The Ngige 2014 Campaign Organization, the campaign signpost of the All Progressives Congress(APC) flag bearer in the forth-coming Nov 16 Anambra governorship election senator Dr Chris Ngige has insisted on a full public enquiry devoid the shoddy trappings of the seeming inexplicable mass killings and dumping into the Ezu River few months ago, in the Saturday’s mass killings in Uke, Idemili North LGA.
Also Senator Ngige has personally gone to condoled with the metropolitan archbishop of the Onitsha Catholic Archdiocise Dr Valerie Okeke as well as the Overseer of the Holy Ghost Adoration Centre Uke, Rev. Fr Emmanuel Obima over the most avoidable stampede that led to the death of tens of some worshippers at the adoration ground at Uke in the early hours of Saturday November 2, 2013.
In separate letters to the two clergies, Senator Ngige candidate of the APC in November 16, governorship polls said that the incident was most unfortunate especially when viewed from the standpoint that the innocent victims of this tragedy left their homes hale and hearty to go and get spiritual upliftment from the lord only for them to meet their untimely death.
He prayed the almighty god to receive the souls of the reposed to eternal rest.
Mean while Senator Ngige, a member of the Knight of Saint John International (KSJI) while on a visit to three hospitals where the bodies of the deceased from the disaster have been confirmed received, has announced a emergency fund first line-fund of N500, 000 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) towards the cost of treatment of those still alive and receiving treatment in the three hospitals.
Ngige, a medical doctor by profession made an initial cash deposit to the management of Crown Hospital yesterday, after discussing with the medical director of the hospital in a visit yesterday. The APC candidate also seized the moment to talk at length with one of the beneficiaries, Miss Chiamaka Ikeora currently in stable condition and receiving treatment.
He took time off to console the anxious relations of the victims and other patients when he visited the injured at the various hospitals were they are receiving treatment yesterday.
Meanwhile Chris Ngige Campaigns Organisation has warned Gov Peter Obi to keep Senator Chris Ngige out of his reckless waste of 52 lives in Anambra State and counting, noting that while the organisation is griefed at the sad occurrence arising on the same day the governor paid an unscheduled and unannounced campaign visit to a church in the dead of the night, with full compliments of the APGA gubernatorial campaign machinery, it is not prepared to play needless politics with the lives of innocent Ndi Anambra.
‘I was trying to speak to the crowd and they were calling a particular name and, we have to find a way to stop that’ Governor Obi said on Channles Television newscast last night. He uprightly blamed Senator Dr Chris Ngige for causing the stampede in the Telecast by Silverbird Television.
Out of those confirmed dead so far ‘not less than 28’ according to the maanegeemnt of Crown Hospital Nkpor are in their morgue, 17 are lying in St Charles Borromeo Hospital Onitsha and nine in Immaculate Heart Hospital Nkpor
But in a statement endorsed by the Director of Media & Publicity in Chris Ngige Campaign Organisation (NGIGE 2014), Chief Charles Amilo, the Organisation warned Obi that the traditional recourse of blaming Senator Ngige each time Gov Obi fails in one department of leadership or governance, should be moribund by now, and would certainly not work in the very serious circumstance at hand’
‘Senator Dr Chris Ngige, neither attended the crusade, knew about it, nor received the report of the crusade in good time after the fact’ adding that ‘If Ndi Anambra who are not necessarily politicians spontaneously rejected Gov Obi and his handpicked stooge in a vigil in which they had no prior knowledge that high-profile guests in APGA uniform will barge into their worship with fliers and sirens, and tear gas, it would not be for Ngige to take any blame’.
‘To worsen matters this audience reportedly , included Chief Victor Umeh, whose agreement to feed fat on Anambra State is wide public knowledge, and his co-signatory ,in the agreement, Mr Obiano who only hours before the reported disaster was involved in debate malpractice on television and Chief Joe-Martins Uzodike, Campaign Manger for Obiano and Commissioner for Information, who being from Awka Etiti in Idemili South has spearheaded the removal of over 64 billboards of Senator Chris Ngige standing in Anambra State.
NGIGE 2014 through Amilo therefore invited Gov Peter Obi to rise to the responsibility of Governance in the remaining part of his tenure by promptly explaining to Ndi Anambra what his security details were reported to have done to create a stampede in an unsuspecting place of worship, as further obfuscation of facts from his government may build avoidable tension’
NGIGE 2014 noted that ‘rather than throw feeble punches around when leadership, responsibility, caution and circumspection call, the governor who is directly and vicariously liable, in this disaster as all pieces of evidence so far suggest, should make way for an independent autopsy, to form part of an independent investigation on the matter in which 52 are dead and three are missing, hundreds are injured and the count in on’
‘This is one more Ezu River must not go away unexplained’ Amilo concluded.
