Following intense public outcry and social media outrage over the death of the man at the needless jamboree to celebrate his 100 days in office, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on Friday, took responsibility for the man’s death.
The tragic incident occurred at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, the Edo State capital, at about 5:08 pm on Thursday, during the praise and worship session, which was part of the needless jamboree lined up to mark Okpebholo’s100 days in office without any significant achievements.
Okpebholo and his handlers had initially remained silent on the matter, intending to sweep it under the carpet to avoid public criticism. However, following persistent public outcry and pressure from social media activists, Okpebholo has now taken responsibility for the unfortunate incident.
In a brief statement to claim responsibility for the death of the man, Okpebholo said, “I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a young man, Pius Etim, during the intense rainfall and collapse of a mast at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.”
He, however, failed to acknowledge that the incident occurred during the needless jamboree marking his 100 days in office without any project or achievements, and that the man, who is said to be the driver to the official government decorator, had the accident and tragically lost his life.
Witnesses reported that the man, who was later identified by Okpebholo as Pius Etim, collapsed after he was hit by some heavy metals used for decoration for the jamboree and died from the accident because he could not get timely medical response.
This further fuelled criticism of the Okpebholo government, who were condemned for decapitating the Edo Emergency Services (EMS) as part of their devious attack and vendetta against projects and initiatives of His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki.
Hence, when the incident happened, the victim couldn’t get emergency response and services because the state government had destroyed the EMS services, leading to the unfortunate death of the man.
Condemning the government for taking responsibility for the incident quite late, a resident of Benin City, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “The sad incident happened yesterday, and the government tried to cover it up, but the people refused to be silent. If not for our outcry, they would have swept this under the rug.”
The resident who is a staff at the stadium where the incident occurred further advised, “The government must be transparent and be ready to take responsibility, no matter the situation. Hiding the truth only makes things worse.”
