A preliminary road traffic investigation report into the recent crash that killed the late Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr James Ocholi (SAN), his wife and son, has blamed the driver, Mr. Taiwo James Elegbede, for over-speeding, even as the federal government has announced March 18 for the burial of the late minister.
The report, according to Thisday, was conducted by the Federal Roads Safety Commssion (FRSC) investigation team and read by the corps marshal, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, during a valedictory session at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in honour of the late Ocholi in Abuja yesterday.
Oyeyemi, who gave details of the investigations, said the driver who had driven at high speed lost control when the rear tyre of the vehicle they were travelling in burst on the Kaduna-Abuja expressway, about 180 kilometres from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He explained that other than the driver’s high speed, there was a likelihood that the minister and his family did not use their seat belts, noting that non-usage of seat belts by the deceased minister and his family increased the fatality rate resulting from the crash.
The team hinged its report on the surviving front seat passengers who had their seat belts on.
According to Oyeyemi, further checks had shown that the driver and Elegbede’s details were not registered on the FRSC database as licensed drivers.
He said the Dunlop tyres on the sports utility vehicle (SUV) which had not expired, were wrongly attached to the rim inwardly instead of outwardly, while the vehicle was without a communication link with the minister’s pilot vehicle occupants who tried desperately to communicate with the minister’s driver through his phone to reduce his speed.
The report had in its concluding paragraph called for adherence to traffic rules, repairs of bad spots on highways and also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the campaign on road safety.
The president and six ministers paid glowing tributes to Ocholi at the valedictory session.
All spoke about their relationship with him, his sacrificial, intellectual and humane qualities that would be missed by members of the council.
Also, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, at the session before the full commencement of FEC meeting, announced the president’s approval of full scholarships for two of the four children left behind by the minister who are still studying and automatic employment for the other two who have graduated from the university, explaining that the decision to take over the education and wellbeing of the children stemmed from the fact that they had lost both parents who were the breadwinners of the family.
The SGF asked the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to work out modalities for the scholarship.
On Tuesday, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, had revealed the government’s plan for the surviving children during a condolence visit to the Ocholi family at their residence in Kado Estate, Abuja.
“The employment letter is in process and you can resume work after now,” he told the children, according to a statement released by his office.
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