The Akwa Ibom State Government has debunked news of deaths and stampede during the opening of the ultra modern Ibom International Stadium in Uyo.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Aniekan Umanah, speaking to sports journalists, who were physically present at the event, on the news making the rounds on the internet that two deaths were recorded due to stampede, said it was complete falsehood intended to discredit the very successful event that has attracted commendations from around the world.
According to Umanah: “Though there were cases of exhaustion and tiredness due to the massive crowd that turned out to part of the grand occasion, no death was recorded throughout the duration of the event that lasted for about seven hours.”
Umanah maintained that the robust medical team of over 100 specialists and ambulances on standby, effectively took care of the few cases of exhaustion and minor injuries that arose during the occasion.
The Commissioner, who said that the 30,000 seats of stadium was filled by 4pm, explained that the excited crowd of Akwa Ibom State people outside of the stadium was successfully persuaded to leave the venue and be part of the ceremony through the various viewing centres provided in the state capital by the government or from their homes through the different television channels that beamed the event live.
He wondered why enemies of progress will seek to diminish the success of the ceremony that had President Goodluck Jonathan and his counterparts from Ghana, Dr. John Mahama, and that of Cote D’Ivoire, Dr. Alassane Outtara, among other global dignitaries in attendance.
Maintaining that the stadium was designed to evacuate its 30,000 capacity spectators through its various exits and terraces within five minutes, the Information Commissioner challenged those behind the false report to “produce the names and pictures of those they claimed died during the commissioning ceremony of the Ibom International Stadium, or name the hospital or morgue where the purportedly dead were taken”.
While advising the agents of falsehood and their collaborators to desist from creating unnecessary panic among the citizenry, Umanah said the people of Akwa Ibom State were already looking forward to the Nations Cup qualifier encounter between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Bafana Bafana of South Africa, as well as the friendly encounter between Nigeria and Brazil slated for early 2015.
He thanked the people of Akwa Ibom State, Nigerians and Africans who have acknowledged and commended the leadership initiative and commitments of Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State in ensuring the completion of the massive stadium project.