A former president of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Festus Iyayi, on Tuesday, died in an accident on Lokoja-Abuja Expressway, on his way to Kano for a meeting of the union.
The
accident which happened at about 11 am at Banda village along the
Lokoja-Abuja highway involved a vehicle in the convoy of the Kogi State
Governor, Idris Wada. - See more at:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/kogi-govs-convoy-kills-ex-asuu-president-iyayi/#sthash.KdMnJK9B.UxKC7v2d.dpuf
The accident which happened at about
11 am at Banda village along the Lokoja-Abuja highway involved a vehicle in the
convoy of the Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada.
Three
other occupants of the vehicle which he boarded were said to be
seriously injured and are currently receiving treatment at the Kogi
State Specialist Hospital.They were the president of the UNIBEN chapter of ASUU, Mr Tony Monye; the national welfare officer of ASUU, Dr (Mrs) Ngozi Illoh, and the driver.
They were reported to be on their way to Kano to participate in National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of ASUU, scheduled for today.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that seven security aides of the governor, who were in the vehicle that hit Iyayi’s vehicle, also sustained Injuries and are receiving treatment at the Government House Clinic, Lokoja.
The state sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Olakunle Motajo, who confirmed the accident, said preliminary investigation revealed that there was wrongful overtaking on the part of the governor’s vehicle, adding that proper investigation had commenced.
The sector commander said Professor Iyayi’s corpse had been deposited at the hospital morgue.
At the scheduled meeting, the union was expected to declare an end to the five-month-old strike, which had paralysed academic activities in Nigeria’s universities.
Iyayi, a writer and activist, was reported to have died instantly during a crash involving his vehicle and that of the convoy of the governor of Kogi State.
An eyewitness disclosed that the accident took place at Banda village, about seven kilometres from Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.
The accident, it was learnt, involved a rear vehicle in the convoy of the Kogi State governor and a Toyota Hilux, with registration number ED 357 USL, belonging to ASUU, University of Benin branch.
The ASUU vehicle, it was reported, veered off the road and summersaulted three times before colliding with a tree in the nearby bush.
The Kogi State government, in a statement signed by Jacob Edi, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, read: “An escort vehicle on the convoy of the governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada, has been involved in a fatal accident.
“The unfortunate incident happened at Banda village today, while the governor was returning from an official engagement in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
“The convoy was on a speed of 80 kilometres per hour when a bus collided with the escort van. Sadly, in the storm, it was discovered that a renown academic and respected human rights advocate, Professor Festus Iyayi, who was in the other vehicle, died in the accident.
“There were other victims with varying degree of injuries from both sides. The victims were immediately evacuated to the State Specialist Hospital in Lokoja, on the governor’s directive.
“Those injured are responding to treatment. The governor has ordered full scale investigation into the matter and paid a visit to the injured.
“Captain Wada sympathised with the victims and their families. He wished the deceased a peaceful repose of his soul.”
A lecturer in UNIBEN and a friend of Professor Iyayi, Professor Tony Afejuku, described the incident as sad, saying ASUU crisis had claimed a big casualty.
Arising from the incident, indications emerged in Abuja that ASUU might cancel the NEC meeting proposed to hold in Kano between today and tomorrow, to deliberate on ending the strike.
The late Iyayi was born in 1947, in Ugbegun, Ishan, Edo State.
- tribune
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