Governor Abiodun Orders Residents’ Evacuation After Ogun Gas Explosion

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Sunday, ordered evacuation of residents in some of the buildings affected by Saturday’s gas explosion in the Ita-Oshin area of the Abeokuta North Local Government Area of the state.

The governor, during an on-the-spot assessment of damage done to properties and businesses around the area, said the evacuation would enable integrity tests to be carried out on the affected buildings.

Abiodun also promised that the state would foot the hospital bills of victims of the incidents while owners of damaged property would be compensated.

At least one person was confirmed dead, with six others injured and six vehicles burnt in a gas tanker explosion on the Abeokuta-Sango-Lagos Expressway.

The spokesperson for the Ogun State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Florence Okpe, confirmed the incident on Sunday, saying the gas truck suffered brakes failure after which it lost control and hit the kerb.

Okpe said, “The crash occurred at about 1610 hrs, involving a tanker laden with gas. The number of people involved was six and all male adults; two  got injured but unfortunately, one person died from the fire incident, which is the motor boy who was trapped.”

Speaking at the scene of the incident on Sunday, Governor Abiodun questioned the safety of trucks carrying Compressed Natural Gas nationwide.

He said: “As a responsible state government, our emergency management team has taken stock of all those businesses, and residences that have been affected by this unfortunate incident.

“What has happened yesterday throws up a lot of questions, far-ranging questions. The issues around safety, regulation, roadworthiness of the modes of transportation, and issues around the required regulatory oversight for the entire industry must be looked into.

“Are these issues happening at the same speed as the industry is progressing? This would allow us to better understand and answer those questions.

“I have directed that one or two buildings be evacuated until our regulatory agency that is in charge does the required integrity test on those buildings, to ensure that they are safe for our people to continue to live in there.

“All those affected will be compensated; all those who are in the hospital, we will take over their treatment.”

He further said a meeting of the state government with the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association had been called for Monday in his office to examine the issue of the safety of tankers plying roads in the state.

Governor Abiodun urged the Standards Organisation of Nigeria to be on top of the fast evolution of the industry, saying that the organization should, as a matter of urgency, ensure that the standards of the CNG tanks used by trucks meet the required standards.