Head on collision claims senator

[Richard Akindele]

One of the Nigeria’s governorship aspirants of the newly formed Advanced Congress of Democrats in Kogi State, Senator Ahmed Tijjani Ahmed, was killed yesterday along with his wife in a head on collision. In a seperate incident, 29 passengers were killed instantly and 25 were injured when a bus was also involvesd in a head on collision.

One of the Nigeria’s governorship aspirants of the newly formed Advanced Congress of Democrats, (ACD), in Kogi State, Senator Ahmed Tijjani Ahmed, was killed yesterday along with his wife in a head on collision.


Sources at the accident site said that a trailer had collided with the former senator’s vehicle at Kpako village, a town along Abuja/Lokoja highway. His wife reportedly died instantly in the crash while Ahmed died some minutes after. The driver was still in a coma at the moment.


He was, prior to the formation of the ACD, a member of the Board of Trustees of the PDP. He went into politics in the Second Republic under the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN). He was elected a senator under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) between 1991-1993 and was re-elected to the senate in 1999 at the advent of the fourth republic.


In 2003, he contested the PDP governorship primaries with the incumbent, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, along with Prince Olusola Akanmode and some others, yet lost to Idris, who went ahead to win the election.


Due to his political strength, he was allowed to nominate Idris’ running mate, Phillip Salawu, who later fell out of favour with the deceased for political reasons.


The love lost between Salawu and his political godfather has been responsible for the obvious lack of confidence on the deputy governor by his kinsmen who only last week told him to resign, as they no longer have confidence in him.


Determined to test his political strength again, Ahmed’s posters had adorned the streets in the state capital as he had signified his intention to compete for the governorship seat, though he was silent on the political platform.


Sources said that that the deceased was one of the financial backers of the ACD in the state and was reported to be heading for a meeting between politicians of the Western and central senatorial extraction on Saturday when he was killed.


The Chairman, Steering Committee of the ACD in the state, Dr. Farouk AbdulAzeez, told the media that the death of Ahmed was shocking and unexpected.


“Not now when ACD is looking forward to form the next government in Kogi State and he represented one of the firebrands to use to dislodge the PDP government.�


In his comments, the former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Smart Adeyemi, described the death of Ahmed as a big blow to Kogi politics.


“It is a painful and agonising development in the political history of our state. He was one politician admired by many. The political class will miss him. No matter your position, Senator Ahmed would allow you your opinion and differ later on points and reasonable argument.�


Adeyemi, now a PDP chief in his Ijumu local government of Kogi State, said that he was with the deceased last April as they had gathered for a development launch of Iyamoye, a sleepy town in Kogi West Senatorial District.


“He struck me as a politician who knows his onions and was ready to stick to his points no matter what,� said Adeyemi.


In a related development, a luxurious bus in the early hours of Saturday between Gwagwalada and Abaji was also involved in a head-on collision with a Toyota Hiace bus with 29 passengers dying on the spot, 25 survived and are at the Gwagwalada Hospital.


When contacted, the FRSC Sector Commander, Jonathan Agwu confirmed the story and said it was tragic. Agwu said the FRSC had bought equipment called Retro-reflective tape to track down drivers who speed in the night.


Nigerian Tribune