Okezie Ikpeazu, the governor of Abia State, condoles with the people of Akwa Ibom and Governor Emmanuel Udom on the church building disaster which occurred in Uyo on Saturday.
Dr. Ikpeazu’a condolence was contained in a statement issued on Sunday, December 11, 2016 by his chief press secretary, Enyinnaya Appolos, on Sunday in Umuahia.
‘The government and people of Abia State are saddened to hear of the unfortunate collapse of the church building at Uyo that claimed dozens of precious lives with the State Governor barely escaping from the scene of the tragedy,” the statement, sent to The Trent, said.
“Our hearts are with the government and people of Akwa Ibom State at this tragic time and we join others in praying that the Almighty God will give the family and friends of the bereaved the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,” Governor Ikpeazu said.
“Accept our deepest condolences and may God be with our brothers and friends as we pray for happier memories. We’re with you in prayers.”
The facts surrounding the collapse of the Reigners Bible Church in Uyo on Saturday, December 10, 2016 are still coming with an official saying 200 had been killed in the disaster.
Some accounts say as many as 300 bodies have been deposited in mortuaries in the Akwa Ibom State capital.
Udom Emmanuel, the governor of Akwa Ibom State, who was attending the consecration ceremony of the pastor and founder of the church, Akan Weeks, when the building collapsed on the congregation has said that the building was defective.
According to some reports, Governor Emmanuel “narrowly escaped death”.
Shortly after the incident, the deputy governor, Moses Ekpo, spoke to The Trent from Cameroon saying that he had spoken with the governor and confirmed that he was not injured.
“Accessing this in the face of somebody who is not an engineer, we see a lot of defects in the construction. We will try as much as possible to bring those who were careless about this to book,” Governor Emmanuel told journalists shortly after the incident.
“I will make contact immediately both the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a team of engineers here in Akwa Ibom to assess whether there were pure negligence on the part of those that did this.
“Actually, it is not a good thing and we are really devastated that this could happen. Be rest assured on the part of government, we will do everything possible to make sure that this will never happen again in this state,” he added.
The church building is located at Uyo Village Road, off Barracks Road. It was reportedly “filled to the brim” for the consecration service which would have seen Akan Weeks take on the title of Bishop.
Sources in the church revealed that the building was recently renovated and “upgraded” ahead of the event.
An eyewitness said they were already inside the building when they noticed that the upper part of the building was caving in.
“We saw the building coming down and everybody started running for safety,” she said.
