…pays Newspaper Association condolence visit
By Deborah Hassan
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, has paid a condolence visit to the family of the newspaper vendor, Ifeanyi Okereke (Elechi) who was shot dead by a Department of State Services detail that was attached to his office on Thursday.
Gbajabiamila also visited the Abuja office of the Newspapers Vendors and Distributors Associations on Sunday to pay condolence.
On Saturday, he met with the family of the late Ifeanyi Okereke at his parent’s Suleja residence and expressed his condolences to his wife who is nursing a week old baby. He had earlier disclosed that he will take responsibility for the education and welfare needs of the two children of the deceased till they reach the age of 21.
The Speaker, on Sunday, told the colleagues of the deceased in the Area 1 office of the Newspapers Vendors and Distributors Association, that in Okereke’s honour, the plenary, the first after their Budget Defence break, would be focused on him.
While saying Tuesday sitting will be open to the executive and some members of the Abuja Newspaper Vendors Association and the Abuja Newspaper Distributors Association, he added that all business that had been lined up for deliberation will be suspended because it will be a “half sitting day” to mourn the deceased.
Gbajabiamila assured the two associations that he will implement their requests which includes the prosecution of the DSS operative who did the shooting and the building of a structure within the Area 1 premises in memory of Okereke.