Nigerian Leaders Condole With Udom over A/Ibom Church Tragedy

Nigerian leaders yes­terday condoled with Akwa Ibom State Gov­ernor, Udom Emmanuel over the deaths of worshippers when the building of Reigners Bible Ministry collapsed in Uyo on Saturday.
Among those, who com­miserated with the governor over the tragedy are the Speak­er, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sena­tor Udoma Udo Udoma.

Although media reports put the death toll at between 25 and 100, the National Emer­gency Management Agency (NEMA) on Sunday said that only six people died in the mis­hap.
An updated statement is­sued in Abuja by NEMA’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Sani Datti, said after conduct­ing a 360-degree search at the scene, both in and outside the church, only a total of 115 per­sons sustained varying degrees of injuries.
According to Datti: “After the search, nobody is current­ly left under the rubble as those affected had all been evacuated.

“NEMA conducted a 360-degree search at the scene. Both in and outside the church and no casualty was left behind. We assisted in evacuating pa­tients with head injuries from private clinics to the specialist hospital.
“We visited all the hospitals to see the health conditions of casualties and condoned off the scene for search and rescue op­eration. 115 persons were con­firmed injured and six persons died,” he stated.
The Reigners Bible Minis­try’s building, located on KM 1, Uyo, caved in on Saturday dur­ing the ordination of its pastor as a bishop, with many dig­nitaries, including Governor Udom escaping death by the whiskers.
In his reaction, Udoma ex­pressed deep sadness at the news of the disaster which killed scores of worshippers.
Udoma in a message to the Akwa Ibom State gover­nor and the people of the state on Sunday by his Media Advis­er, Akpandem James, said ap­propriate words fail him in ex­pressing his very deep sorrow for the loss.
Dogara called for a thor­ough and comprehensive inves­tigation into the immediate and remote causes of the collapse of the church building in Uyo.
He commiserated with the government and people of the state as well as members of the Reigners Bible Church and the Christian community over the unfortunate incident.
In a statement issued by his spokesman, Turaki Hassan, the Speaker described it as a great tragedy that has befallen the country.
Governor Okowa also ex­pressed sadness over the death of several worshippers in the collapse of the building.
In a statement issued in Asaba by his Chief Press Sec­retary, Charles Aniagwu, Okowa said that the tragic death of some worshippers in the church was a “very sad ex­perience and prayed for the re­pose of the faithful departed.”