Ashiwwaju.org learnt that the accident which occurred close to the
Ship House was on top speed to ignore the traffic light at the junction.
A
witness said Mr. Akpabio was moving in a convoy of vehicles towards the City
Gate when his vehicle ran into another car.
“My
wife and I were coming from the NNPC Mega Station and we stopped at the traffic
light by Bolingo Hotel Junction. When the green light showed and we made to
move, there was this siren blaring Mercedes Benz jeep that came from the town
and almost crashed onto my car. I don’t know how we dodged but another that was
behind the jeep hit the car behind me and tumbled on its side.
“I
and my wife rushed out of our vehicle and helped the driver bring out his boss.
When we brought him out, we found that it was former governor Godswill Akpabio.
“At
the time we brought him out, the siren was still blaring. We put him in the
other vehicle and he was rushed to the National Hospital.”
The
witness said Mr. Akpabio was badly shaken and was in a traumatic condition when
he was brought out of the crashed vehicle.
He
said the former governor was apparently rushing out of the city when his convoy
beat the traffic and crashed.
When Ashiwwaju.org arrived at the National Hospital two hours after Mr. Akpabio was
admitted at the hospital, a security official said the former governor was at
the National Trauma Center.
The
source however noted that Mr. Akpabio was later moved to a private section of
the hospital for X-ray and other investigations.
At
about 10am, PREMIUM TIMES met with the driver to the former governor, simply
called David who confirmed the accident.
Mr.
David said his boss was in a stable condition but declined to say how the
accident happened. He wore a pair of black jeans trouser with a white stripped
shirt.
When
contacted on the telephone, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, J.
Momoh, said he could not speak on Mr. Akpabio’s case because he had no
authorisation from the family.
Mr.
Momoh, who argued that it was against medical ethics to speak about a patient
on admission, did not however deny that Mr. Akpabio was being treated at the
facility.
“I
cannot speak about a patient on admission without getting approval from his
family. You should therefore excuse me,” Mr. Momoh said.
When
reminded that Mr. Akpabio was a public official and Nigerian Senate Minority
Leader and not a quiet family man, Mr. Momoh still insisted he could not speak
on the matter.
At
about 12.25p.m. Mr. Akpabio’s successor, Governor Udom Emmanuel, arrived in a
three-vehicle convoy, led by a Toyota Jeep, with registration number, Yab 474
BG.
Mr.
Udom was driven in a BMW salon car with the number plates covered.
The Senate Minority Leader Physician, Iniobong Essien, has since arrived the National Hospital to
oversee the medical treatment of the former governor.