Posted by By Ben Agande on
SCORES of anxious relatives eager to get news of the fate of their relatives aboard the ill-fated Bell View flight that crashed in Ifo, Ogun State stormed the local wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport yesterday morning for information on the fate of their relatives.
ABUJA - SCORES of anxious relatives eager to get news of the fate of their relatives aboard the ill-fated Bell View flight that crashed in Ifo, Ogun State stormed the local wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International airport yesterday morning for information on the fate of their relatives.
Several relatives especially women were seen wailing while others were too stunned to talk.
A woman who came to the airport at about eight in morning was heard telling no one in particular, ‘‘my son flew all the way from Europe without dying only for him to get to Nigeria and then die in a plane crash. What sort of life is this?
At about 10am, a rescue helicopter from the National Emergency management Agency was seen taking off from the Nnamdi Airport to the sight of the crash.
Hundreds of persons were seen huddled in groups discussing about the crash.
Meanwhile some members of the House of Representatives have called for an over haul in the country's search and rescue in order to minimise the incidence of deaths after accidents.
A cross section who spoke with Vanguard at the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport yesterday said had the country been better equipped perhaps some persons would have been saved from the plane crash.
According to Hon. Halims Agoda, chairman of the House committee on Information if search and rescue was prompt after the plane crash'' 'there is no doubt that our rescue preparedness is still at low ebb. Ideally, something that happened for so long should have been identified. It is quite tragic. It shows that there is the urgent need for us to take a closer look at our preparedness for disaster. If we were able to get to the scene of the crash on time, many lives would have been saved. We in parliament would ensure that the aviation sector is closely monitored and this particular incidence thoroughly investigated.
FROM: BEN. AGANDE, ABUJA.
NIGERIANS REACT TO THE DEATH OF STELLA OBASANJO.
Prominent Nigerians yesterday reacted with shock to the death of the first lady, Stella Obasanjo and prayed God to give the president the fortitude to bear the loss.
According to the Director General of the national Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the death of the first lady was ‘‘as tragic as it was shocking. The only thing I can say is to condole the president and members of his family and to pray God to give Mr. President the strong will to bear the loss.
For Engineer Goodness Goodman Agbi, the death of the first lady was too sudden and strange to believe.
''For the past six years, the first lady stood stoically behind her husband in his services to the nation. Her death is not only a personal loss to the president and the first family but to the nation at large. It is particularly painful that she died at a time the good work her husband had been doing is beginning to manifest positively on Nigerians. We pray God to give the president the fortitude to bear the loss"" he said.
Hon. Halims Agoda, the chairman of the House committee on Information in his reaction, said the death of the first lady was ‘‘shocking, tragic and calamitous not only to the first family but to all Nigerians.
''The death of the first lady at the time it happened is a national disaster and let me use this opportunity to commiserate with the president of the federal republic of Nigeria for the tragic loss. She distinguished herself while alive with her modest contribution especially in the area of care for the less privileged children. The country will continue to have fond memories of her"" he observed.
Hon. Ned Nwoko in his reaction said Nigerians must rally round the president so that ‘‘weight of this tragic loss will not tell too much on him. We must all, as patriots come together to give the president moral and psychological support in his trying period. May her soul rest in the bossom of the lord'' he said.