Slain corps member ’ll be immortalised —Wike

From Tony John, Port Harcourt

RIVERS State government would immortalize Samuel Okonta, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member slain during the March 19, 2016, rerun legislative elections in Port Harcourt.
Governor Nyesom Wike who made the promise at the NYSC Headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday, also said government would pro­vide all necessary assistance to the police to ensure the culprits are brought to book.
He said the death was painful because the slain Okonta was an orphan who suffered through school and was on the verge of being of help to his immediate family.
“The death of this corps member is unfortunate and condemnable. I urge the Police to thoroughly investi­gate the crime. The outcome of the investigation should be made public so that those involved are prosecuted. The killing of this corps member must not be swept under the carpet,” he said.
He said his administration would also take measures to improve security in the state, assuring that steps would be taken to ensure that the incident did not oc­cur again.
He announced an in­crement in the monthly allowance of corps mem­bers serving outside Port Harcourt from N10, 000 to N15000 while those serving in Port Harcourt have theirs increased from N5, 000 to N10, 000.
Responding on behalf of the family, Alex Edeabeatu who said the late corps member was a shining light thanked the governor for his gesture.
State Coordinator of the NYSC, Mrs. Ngozi Nwata­rali commended the gover­nor for commiserating with the NYSC at its moment of grief and appealed for greater protection for corps members during elections.
However, the trade blame is still raging with Wike slamming the violence that trailed the rerun poll on failure by security agencies to implement the decisions reached during the state security council on the deployment of personnel to security flashpoints.