Family members of the late Minister of state for Labour, James Ocholi,
who died along the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway on Sunday alongside his wife,
Blessing; and son, Joshua, are suspecting something fishy about the
unfortunate incident.
Ocholi’s uncle, Abdallah Aliu; another
relative, Paul Audu; and the immediate younger sister to the late
Blessing, who did not want her name in print, insisted that the driver
must be investigated since the driver of a car that somersaulted several
times would ordinarily be unconscious and would not take photographs of
the deceased and upload them on social media.
Speaking yesterday,
they also contended that the driver and the orderly should have
cordoned off the place and evacuated the corpses as this had been the
tradition whenever a VIP was involved in an accident.
According to Aliu, “Distinguished Senator Ngige, I know you very well.
When James Ocholi was told to work with you, I knew he was in good
hands because the last time I saw you was in Anambra State. We ate with
you in your house as a governor.
“This man that just died is not a
lone person. We leave this responsibility in your care. Whoever
recruited the driver and posted (redeploy) him should be investigated.
It can happen to anybody, it can happen to any minister. It can happen
because it has happened.
“So, we want to know who recruited the
driver, and at what speed (he was during the trip) to the extent that
the corpse of the deceased cannot even be recognised. Can you imagine
that? I am worried, it is worrisome.”
The Punch further quoted
Aliu as saying: “There was a kind of foul play in the whole exercise,
which is very worrisome. Apparently, the driver who drove the car was
the same person who took the photo of the dead man and sent it all over
the Internet – whatsApp and others. So, the question is: how come that
the driver of the vehicle in the same car was able to take the picture
of the dead man?
The side of the door, where the Honourable Minister sat, was not
properly locked because after the car somersaulted, the thing flung him
and so he had a terrible and fatal damage that his body was beyond
recognition. There was a foul play in Ocholi’s death.
“While I was
in his house, I already knew because those who conspired and plotted it
(the death) became jittery because I have never been to that house and
they don’t know me. But somehow, they became jittery, scared and
worried.
“This thing they did is political, it is a political war
and some people want to score some political points against the system
somehow. The death of Ocholi is quite suspicious.
“So, I had to
hurriedly leave because God has made me to know what happened and we
know that they will get the people who are responsible. When you are
innocent, God will always uncover how certain things happened. Ocholi’s
death is a great loss to the common people of Nigeria. And the spirit of
the common people of Nigeria is fighting back.
“The perpetrators
want to derail the focus of this administration. They are looking for
every way to put a wedge in the wheel of success. I can specifically
pinpoint those who plotted these things. What they are trying to do now
is to knock heads together and the earlier we get rid of them out of
that place, the better.
“As we were there, they were trying to get
the contacts of the ministers that came there for condolence, making
phone calls and reporting back to whoever is their manipulator.
“They
decided to get rid of Ocholi to derail the focus of the government.
Ocholi was not smart enough to know that these things could happen. They
have lost, failed and we will ask God to forgive them because they have
taken a soul that they cannot create.”
In his response, the
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige promised to
investigate how the driver of the Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV, conveying
the late Minister was employed.
“The acting Permanent Secretary is
here, she is the one in charge of human resources. We will find out and
investigate it. We will do, but I can tell you that our personal
drivers are known to us and we both keep our personal drivers. We will
find out and investigate this,” Ngige assured.

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