To avoid any fatal explosion, the Ekiti State Government has ordered the immediate removal and confiscation of a Gas Tanker abandoned at an accident scene at Igede Ekiti, Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government area of the State.
The government also directed security agencies to ascertain the owner of the articulated vehicle conveying the gas-laden tank that has been abandoned since Friday along the Igede-Iyin Road, posing danger to the public.
Handing down the order during a visit to the accident site on Monday, the Deputy Governor, Monisade Afuye, said Governor Biodun Oyebanji was deeply worried by the abandonment of the tank in the residential area for days without action taken to evacuate it.
Afuye, in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Victor Ogunje, said the Governor’s expectation was that the owners ought to have evacuated the inflammable substance from the scene a few hours after the accident.
The Deputy Governor said the state government had deployed firefighters to the area in readiness for any eventualities and to be on guard.
She said the removal and confiscation became the best option to prevent the unwarranted loss of precious lives of the people since the owners could not be ascertained as of the time of the visit.
The Deputy Governor also directed the Chairman of the Council, Babatola Ogundana to get another articulated truck and work with other experts to remove the flammable substance from its present scene immediately.
She said, “We thank God that no explosion accompanied the accident despite the substance being highly flammable. But it was bad for the owners to have left it here for days without thinking of the implications of his action.
“The Governor was worried, which informed his action that fire fighting truck should be stationed at the scene of the accident because as the tank gets hotter, the possibility of it exploding is very high and that could be dangerous to our people and their property.
Mrs Afuye commended the Council boss for promptly informing the Police and the Department of State Services about the incident, saying the agencies will investigate and unravel the identities of the owners.
In his response, the Council Chairman, Ogundana and the lawmaker representing Irepodun/Ifelodun Constituency 1 in the House of Assembly, Femi Akindele, said landlords and motorists had been gripped with fear since the accident occurred last Friday.
Akindele said the truck had the accident while trying to ascend the hilly portion of Igede-Iyin road.
“We are all worried here. Even the residents and leaders of Igede are worried. They were not really happy that the owners abandoned this dangerous and inflammable substance here for days. To us, this is insensitive and callous.
