Akpabio in road crash, lands in National Hospital

A former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, who is currently the Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, was involved in a road accident in the early hours of Monday on his way to the Airport to catch an international flight.

Our correspondent learnt that his car ran into a convoy of a foreign envoy whose identity had not been determined as of the time of filing this report.

It was not clear whether it was Akpabio’s driver or the driver of the Ambassador’s pilot car that beat the traffic light, which led to the accident.

An officer of the Federal Roads Safety Commission, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that the occupants of the vehicles in the convoy of the ambassador and Akpabio’s driver did not sustain any injury but that the senator suffered some injuries in the chest region.

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The FRSC officer, who was at the scene of the accident which occurred around 7:25am near the Bolingo Hotel, along the Abuja Airport Road, in the Central Business District Area of the FCT, stated that Akpabio was immediately rushed to the National Hospital for an intensive care.

One of the senator’s aide sighted at the National Hospital on Monday told our correspondent that Akpabio was traveling outside the country to visit his wife and children when the unfortunate incident happened.

The Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Biodun Olujimi, who was one of the early callers at the hospital, explained that medical personnel at the hospital told her that the Akwa Ibom North-West senator was in a stable condition.

Also the current governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, who was sighted at the hospital, did not speak with journalists when he got there around 12:10pm.

The Chief Information Officer of National Hospital, Hajia Rabiah Labaran, told journalists in her office that Akpabio was brought to the hospital by some FRSC officers who rescued him from the scene of the accident.

Labaran said, “He (Akpabio) was brought in this morning after he had a car crash as I learnt. He was brought in from the Bolingo Hotel junction where a vehicle crashed into his own vehicle from behind.

“Lucky enough, when they brought him after the preliminary check–up, it was found that he did not have any serious injury. He was talking when he was brought in and they gave him necessary attention at the trauma unit.

“I learnt that as of this afternoon, (12:30pm), he was taken to the private wing of the hospital for proper care but there was no serious injury, though it has not been disclosed what kind of injury. It is something he can come over in a few days. He is currently recuperating. He was with his driver but the driver did not sustain injury,” she added.