‘I’ve no hand in HIV positive woman’s death’

RIVERS State Deputy Governor and Chairman, Rivers State Flood Relief Committee, Mr. Tele Ikuru, on Saturday exonerated himself from the death of a woman, he allegedly evicted from a flood relief camp in the state.
Ikuru said he did not order the eviction of the woman, Mrs. Maureen Lucky, from the camp in Okwuzi, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.
Lucky was reported to have died few days after allegedly being directed to leave the camp by the deputy governor.
In a statement made available to The PUNCH, the deputy governor said he had no knowledge of the circumstances leading to the death of the mother of three.
The statement by Ikuru’s Press Secretary, Mr. Biobele Da-Wariboko, said contrary to the position of a non-governmental organisation known as Social Action on the issue, the deputy governor visited the Okwuzi camp as a response to its report on the health condition of the deceased.
“Ikuru was only doing his normal routine visits to the camps when he visited the Okwuzi flood camp in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the State on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, where those in the camp complained of the presence of an HIV/AIDS infected person in the camp.
“The deputy governor not only explained to them that Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus were not transmissible on physical contact but also the need to show care and concern to those infected or affected and why people living with HIV/AIDS should be accommodated,” the statement read.
It noted that Ikuru did not by himself or through any proxy order the eviction of the said Lucky or anyone else as alleged by Social Action.
“They (Social Action) also failed to tell the public at what point and through what means the deputy governor ordered the eviction of the said AIDS patient.
“Was it during his visit to the camp or on a later date? Was it only Social Action that was present at the time the deputy governor gave such order,” the statement queried.