Bus driver cries for help, claims firm abandoned him after accident

A former driver with the Young Shall Grow Transport Company, Mr Emeka Ezeafulukwe, who survived an auto crash that left him bedridden, has appealed to the firm to pay his hospital bills and settle his entitlements.

Ezeafulukwe, an indigene of Anambra State, who worked for the transport company for more than 14 years, said while on his way to Lagos from Anambra, he had a brake failure around Ijebu Ode, which resulted in an accident that claimed the life of his assistant, Emeka Martins, on May 5, 2019.

“The vehicle’s brake failed suddenly while descending a hill and I couldn’t control it until I hit the trailer in my front. Some passengers were injured. I was admitted immediately to a Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Lagos. I have been in this condition for a year and four months. I have spent so much on treatment.

“I want The Young Shall Grow to pay my hospital bills and settle my entitlements so I can settle my late assistant’s family. I have called the Transport Manager, Mr Peter Luxury, the General Manager, Mr Ebere Onuora, and also the Maintenance Manager, Mr Ejike Onyenwe, to request for help, but none has helped.”

Ezeafulukwe added that since the accident, he had not received any payment from the transport company and no move had been made to pay a dime of the hospital bills running into millions due to multiple surgeries performed to fix the broken bones of his chin.

“What the company could say is that when I fully recover, I should come so I can be compensated. I know the meaning of that compensation. They want to give me a new bus and then a free turn. I don’t need that and I don’t want to go back to the company. That is why I want them to pay my bills and settle me so I can settle my assistant’s family,” he pleaded.

When this reporter visited the company’s head office at Alakija, Lagos, for reaction, the General Manager, Mr Ebere Onuoha, threatened to deal with the reporter before sending the reporter out of his office.