A former Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Abisola Sodipo-Clark, has dismissed allegations that the state government showed indifference to rescue operations following a recent fatal accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Sodipo-Clark, who spoke to journalists in Abeokuta on Monday, said Ogun had long established an emergency response system for accident victims, insisting that the state’s intervention predated similar initiatives in Lagos.
Her comments followed public concern over the reported absence of rescue ambulances at the scene of a crash involving former world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua, and two of his friends on the dual carriageway.
The former commissioner, a population medicine specialist and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, recalled her role in 1997 during the military era in the establishment of the Gateway Accident Victims Emergency Service (GAVES), an Ogun State-owned emergency response outfit.
She explained that the service deployed fully equipped ambulances at strategic locations, particularly around the Sagamu Interchange, not only to cover the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway but also other major routes within the axis.
According to her, the initiative was inspired by her professional exposure as a World Health Organisation fellow and USAID staff member, adding that the service had saved many lives over the years.
Sodipo-Clark further revealed that Lagos State officials had once visited Ogun to understudy the GAVES model before replicating it in their own emergency response framework.
“I was surprised that none of the ambulances arrived at the scene early enough. That should not have happened,” she said.
She added that the tragic incident underscored the need for a more coordinated national strategy on accident prevention and emergency response, stressing that population medicine — her area of specialisation — focuses largely on preventive care and human wellbeing.
The fatal crash reportedly involved Joshua and two friends, who lost their lives and were later buried in the United Kingdom.
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