LAGOS AUGUST 12TH (URHOBOTODAY)-A traditional ruler in Delta State, the Obi of Issele-Uku, HRM Henry Ezeagwuna I, and the Senior Special Adviser to Delta State Governor on Information and Communication Technology, (ICT), Mr. Sunny Ofili were, yesterday, allegedly burnt to death following a motor accident on Asaba-Benin highway.
Sunday Vanguard gathered that the accident occurred between Issele-Uku and Issele-Azagba at about 4pm. The victims were said to be travelling to Asaba in connection with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chairmanship primaries held in Aniocha yesterday when the incident happened. The Obi was said to be driving the car at the time of the accident.
An eyewitness said the Mercedes Benz car conveying the victims rammed into an articulated vehicle and caught fire immediately.
It was wailing galore when the news of the accident got to Asaba as some staff of Ofili could not control themselves, describing him as a humble and unassuming personality. Ofili was said to be one of the aspirants for the Aniocha North House of Assembly seat in 2015.
At Issele-Uku, gloom was on the faces of residents who discussed the incident in hushed tone because, according to tradition, the death of an Obi cannot be announced without following procedure.
Reacting to the accident, the member representing Aniocha/Oshimili federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr. Ndudi Elumelu, said, “very very sad, we have lost a great royal father in the late Obi Henry Osemene who until his death was in the forefront of lasting peace in Aniocha North and Anioma.
“He had hoped that during his life time he would witness the swearing-in of an Anioma son as the governor of Delta. I share in the grief of all Oligbo sons and daughters. On my junior brother Sunny Ofili, it is the worst news I have every received in my entire life because we spoke this morning and we had cause to discuss Aniocha North plus his dreams and his jokes about how he had wished that he took the local government to the next level at the state assembly level if he had the opportunity.
He pleaded that I allowed him to pay me a consultation visit and here he is no more. What a huge loss to us the Aniocha north people, Anioma people and Delta as a whole bearing in mind the roles he was playing in this current government.
Again I on behalf of the good people of Aniocha/Oshimili federal constituency commiserate with his family and my governor who graciously made his relocation from America to Nigeria an easy one. He will be remembered for his contributions towards transforming the ICT centres in Delta. May their gentle souls rest in peace”, he stated.
A senior official of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Asaba confirmed the incident but said,“We are yet to get the full details. So I cannot just tell you whether those you are mentioning are dead or not”.
Source: Vanguard Newspaper