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Gbajabiamila Meets With Abuja Vendors Over Death Of Colleague

Published

4 years ago

Nov 22, 2020.

Yinka Akanbi

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

… sets up trust fund for slain vendor’s children

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Sunday met with members of the Abuja Newspapers Distributors Association (ANDA) and the Newspapers Vendors Association, Abuja (NVAA) to condole with them over the death of their colleague, Ifeanyi Okereke.

Okereke was shot by a member of Gbajabiamila’s security team on Thursday.

Gbajabiamila, who visited the Abuja newspapers distribution centre at Area 1 in Abuja, assured the vendors that the slain vendor would get justice.

“The arc of the moral universe is long but it always bends towards justice,” the Speaker said, according to a statement issued by his media aide, Lanre Lasisi.

The Speaker said the House would upon its resumption of plenary on Tuesday honour the late Ifeanyi and invited the leaders of the two associations to be part of the event to be held on the floor of the House.

“Let me address you not as the Speaker but as Femi Gbajabiamila a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who has been caught unawares in the middle of this unfortunate incident,” the Speaker said.

“Many of you that have been following me from the beginning know that championing the cause of the masses has been my life work as a legislator. I have been a champion of the common man and therefore the irony of this is not lost on me and many of us. However, I will continue to do this as long as I live.

“This is a very difficult time for me. Like many have said, you guys have been my friends for years. I have no idea and I don’t know why you guys have always taken to me over the years including campaigning for me in the streets of abuja during the speakership election. You’ve always been there for me. As you were selling your papers, you were also selling me.

“That’s why each time I pass you guys , I stop to say hi. Some people said why did I stop in the middle of the road? But as we were moving, the lights changed to red which meant to stop. We could have moved on, but I have always instructed my convoy to be law abiding. So we stopped and my friends, as usual, besieged the vehicle, shouting and were jubilant.

“Immediately I heard the gunshot, I screamed and said why did they do that? At that time I thought it was just a shot into the air. As we moved on, I asked that they should park the car. It’s against security training as they made me realize, but I insisted and they parked. They said everything was okay. Indeed some other road users behind us did say everything was okay. We moved on. It was later that night that I got the full gist of what had happened. I want to commiserate with you over what happened.”

The Speaker said the security operative responsible for the shooting had been handed over to the Department of State Security (DSS), and they are investigating the shooting and its circumstances.

Gbajabiamila said he had visited the family of the late Ifeanyi at the Kwata area of Madalla-Suleja on Saturday, where he met with his wife and children.

“Those children have now become my children. I have made commitments to the family to train them until they become adults. I have instructed the lawyers in my office to immediately set up a trust fund for them until adulthood. The incident has touched me in no small measure and in ways difficult for anyone to understand. I am a man of peace and not violence.”

In his address, the President of ANDA, Benji Obute, commended the Speaker for his humility and thanked him for showing uncommon concern over the incident.

Similarly, the Chairman of NVAA, Etim Iwara, said the late Ifeanyi was a dedicated and loyal member of their association, adding that justice must be done on his death.

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