Ogun tanker fire victims seek govt help

Some truck drivers and a furniture maker whose vehicles and goods were destroyed in a tanker fire incident along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Wednesday have appealed to the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, to come to their aid.

The victims who spoke with PUNCH Metro on Thursday in separate interviews lamented that the destruction of their vehicles and goods had left them devastated.

PUNCH Metro had gathered on Wednesday that the fire began when the tanker, loaded with petrol, overturned in front of a commercial bank along the Ibafo section of the expressway.

Eyewitnesses had said that the driver of the tanker was suspected to have fallen asleep at the wheel, causing him to lose control, which led to the tanker’s fall and eventual explosion.

The explosion led to the destruction of five vehicles including one tanker and four tippers worth millions of naira, as well as houses and animals.

Speaking with our correspondent on Thursday, a driver, Muftau Afunso, lamented that he lost an Iveco 20 tonnes tipper worth N50m to the inferno.

He stressed that the vehicle was given to him on an instalment payment and that the incident had led him hospitalised.

“My vehicle destroyed in the fire incident is an Iveco 20 tonnes truck worth N50m. I got the vehicle on hire purchase and I had barely paid much out of the money. When I heard about the fire and got there to realise that my vehicle was completely burnt, I felt devastated. I have been hospitalised since yesterday.

“This is the only source of income that I have to feed my family and the children of my late brother.”

Another driver, Isiaka Olasunkanmi, said his vehicle was given to him as a means of support after he had an accident that left him amputated.

He lamented that he had nowhere to resort to again for assistance following the destruction in the fire incident.

In his words, “This vehicle was given to me on hire purchase after I had an accident that left me in this state. It is not up to one year that I got the vehicle before this unfortunate incident.

“My family has been devastated since yesterday because we do not know where to resort to. The government should please come to our aid.”

The son of a furniture maker whose goods were destroyed in the incident, Azeez Olamilekan, noted that some of the materials used in making the furniture were obtained on credit, saying the incident had resulted in a huge debt for his father.

He noted that his father had become ill after the incident.

Azeez said, “This is my dad’s office and he has become ill after the incident because the goods we lost to the fire are worth over N1m. Most of the materials we used were got on credit and we make payments after sales but this incident has led us into debt.

“We can only hope that the government will come to our aid because it is not easy to swiftly recover from this incident.”

Another driver who lamented his loss was Mr Jimoh, who appealed to the Ogun State Government to come to their aid so that they could recover from the losses incurred.

Efforts to get the reaction of the Chief Press Secretary to the Ogun State Governor, Lekan Adeniran, proved abortive as he had yet to respond to calls and messages sent to his line as of the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, Governor Dapo Abiodun had, on Thursday, expressed his condolences to the victims of the tanker fire incident.

He had described the inferno as unfortunate, even as he commiserated with the affected.

The governor had urged tanker drivers to adhere to safety regulations related to fuel transport and storage to prevent similar tragedies from occurring.