SEE HOW GOVERNOR EMMANUEL RESCUE THESE VICTIMS

Hours after the incident, the state governor, Emmanuel, who almost lost his life to the incident but for his aide who swiftly pushed him outside the church, had mobilised for funding and other resources to take care of the injured.

An aide to the Special Adviser to the governor on Rural Development/Cooperative, Mr. Edidiong Thompson, who is also a survivor, worried that if the governor had not “promptly” intervened by providing free treatment to the injured, many more would have died.



However, Thompson asked religious leaders in the country to emulate the likes of Abraham, David, and Solomon in the Bible, “who built temples that never collapsed.”

Angry that if not for the “rush for title” by Apostle Weeks, the incident would not have happened and people wouldn’t have died.

He said, “The clerics in the country should note how King Solomon built a temple for God. The temple was not rushed. Gold and other precious stones were used in the construction of the temple.

“If you went to other parts of the world, you would notice that places of worship are built with gold and other precious stones. They are well planned and executed.

“Also, titles don’t make the foundation of any church to be solid. If your title is an ordinary ‘Mr.,’ you can still make a difference. Titles do not mean we have the gifts of God in us.

“Anyway, we thank the state government for the timely intervention. If not for that, many people would have died on their way to the hospitals or in the hospitals.”

Another survivor being treated at the UUTH, Mrs. Victory Edet, 31, said, “I’ve not spent a kobo on medical bills or been denied drugs. I think the hospital management and the Akwa Ibom State government are really trying for us.”

Miss Esther Akpan, a survivor from Itu Local Government Area of the state, felt that the governor’s safety was responsible for the “good” treatment being administered to the injured.

She worried that the governor’s death might have demoralised hospital officials from attending to the injured.

“I really thank God that our governor was not affected. If the reverse was the case, many people would have died in the hospitals because nobody would have thought of caring for us very well. All the news would have been focussed on the governor and not the injured,” she said.