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Monarch, Gov's aide perish in Delta road crash [Sun, The (Nigeria)](Sun, The (Nigeria) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Double tragedy hit the Issele-Uku community in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State as the traditional ruler of the town, HRM, Henry Ezeagwunam and one of his illustrious subjects, Mr. Sunny Ofili perished in a road accident. Delta State Government was not spared of the tragedy as Ofili was the Special Adviser to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan on Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The victims were burnt to death as the Sport Utility Vehicle they were travelling in burst into flames after hitting a truck laden with gravel (mark Edo FUG 238 XA) from behind at Otulu Junction on the Benin-Asaba-Onitsha expressway at about 3.pm. Eyewitnesses said the royal father was on the driver's seat while Ofili was on the passenger side at the time of the accident. The rear tyres of the truck were deflated as a result of the impact of the SUV which was burnt beyond recognition. Tears rolled down freely as rescue team extricated the burnt bodies that were trapped in the accidented SUV. Officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) had hectic time controlling traffic on the expressway as there was a temporary gridlock on the accident spot. The accident cut short the euphoria that characterised the primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to elect chairmanship candidates for the October 25 council election in the state. Ofili who was eying the state House of Assembly to represent Aniocha North constituency, was said to have monitored the primary election in his council area before embarking on the journey with the monarch. He had recently been engaged in empowerment of the people of his council area as part of his subtle campaigns for House of Assembly seat under his 'Liberation Mandate'. The deceased who was appointed as SA to Governor Uduaghan in 2011, was a two-career professional who excelled both in journalism and information technology. He worked with the African Guardian magazine under the stable of The Guardian Newspapers. He is a Fellow of the US based Centre for Foreign Journalists and was the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of an online newspaper, The Times of Nigeria. As an Information Technology Engineer, Ofili worked for Fortune 500 companies such as Lockheed Martin, Bechtel, and Internet software giant, Symantec Inc., all based in the United States of America. The highpoint of his career in information technology came when he was asked to design an Enterprise Management System for the United States Census Bureau. Ofili led a team of nine engineers that successfully designed an EMS system that was deployed by the United States Census Bureau for the conduct of the country's 2001 Census. Before returning to work as ICT consultant to Delta State Government that preceded his appointed Special Adviser, Ofili was a Senior Engineer with a civilian agency in the United States, the Social Security Administration. A Microsoft and Cisco certified Engineer, Ofili was the President and CEO of two IT firms, Nigercom Networks Inc and Apogee Technologies Inc. (c) 2014 The Sun Publishing Limited. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |