… displaced victims now 500
The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Saturday announced a donation of N200 million to the Abule-Ado Soba Relief Fund, to assist victims of the explosion, which number continues to rise daily.
This was even as a female victim who had been receiving treatment at the Igbobi Orthopedic Hospital, succumbed to her injuries as the number of displaced victims reached 500.
The state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had set up a N2 billion relief fund in the wake of the gas pipeline explosion which claimed many lives and loss of properties, with initial donation of N250 million from the state government into the fund.
While announcing the donation during the on-the-spot assessment of the site, the Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum, who is also Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, accompanied by governors of Kano and Edo states, Umar Ganduje and Godwin Obaseki, respectively, said that the donation was a collective contributions from the NGF, promising each state would further donate to the fund.
Fayemi also commiserated with the state and commended the state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for his quick response to the situation.
“The Nigerian Governors Forum saw the need and urgency to have on-the- spot assessment so we can report back to the larger house. Our colleagues wanted us to have a sense of the extent of damages done here. I want to thank Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who has brought us here. Our mission is to commiserate with Lagos State government and people of the state particularly who were affected by the incident. Life is critical to us. There is a lot we have learnt about indiscriminate construction of buildings along NNPC pipeline. This is an opportunity to do something about NNPC pipeline across the country.
“There has been lots of pipeline damages that have resulted in loss of lives. We would make recommendations as NGF on how to tackle this perennial problems. Any loss of lives is unfortunate. We thank God it happened on a Sunday. We are aware of the relief fund and have the authority of my colleagues to contribute to it. We are contributing N200 million to the relief fund. I want to offer our condolences to the lives that have been lost. We pray for avoidance of such incident in the future,” he added.
Meanwhile, giving an update on the development at the explosion site, the Director-General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Femi Oke-Osayintolu, said: “We regret to report that the fatality rate from the above incident has climbed to 23 with the death of a female victim who had been receiving treatment at the Igbobi Orthopedic Hospital. A revised total of 500 people have been displaced from their homes and 100 of them have been accommodated in the LASEMA relief camp.”
