Udora Orizu in Abuja
The House of Representatives has partnered the Lagos state government to find the root cause of the explosion in Abule-Ado area of the state with a view to averting the reoccurrence in the future.
The House also resolved to assist with the relief fund set up by the state government by providing financial relief for the victims of the disaster.
It further mandated NEMA to give material assistance to the over 5,000 people who suffered various degrees of injuries, those whose relatives died and those whose houses and property were destroyed in the gas plant explosion.
These resolutions were sequel to adoption of the motion of urgent public importance at the plenary wednesday.
The motion titled, “On the need for government to come to the aid of over 5,000 families of AbuIe-Ado near Lagos International Trade Fair Complex in Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency, Lagos, where gas plant explosion killed over 30 people , injuring over 200 people and destroying over 500 buildings worth billions of Naira,’ was sponsored by Hon. Dolapo-Badru Enitan and all the lawmakers from Lagos caucus.
Presenting the motion, Enitan said that about 500 buildings that housed more than 5,000 people were destroyed in the gas plant blast and thousands of people have been rendered homeless.
He said the House is aware that Lagos State government has set up a relief fund of N2 billion with an initial deposit of 250 million paid into the relief fund by the state government.
He expressed concerns that besides those that died, more than 200 people who are injured by the explosion and who suffered various degrees of injuries are receiving medical treatment in different hospitals with many people still trapped underneath wreckages of collapsed buildings.
Contributing in support of the motion, Hon. James Faleke blamed the explosion on government policies.
He said, “Sometimes government policies are the cause of all these calamities. In other climes pipelines are laid 300 metres beneath the surface. But what we have here is a situation where pipelines are laid in the surface. All pipelines and filling stations within residential areas should be moved out. “
Similarly, Hon. Toby Okechukwu lamented that it was unfortunate that people lost their lives not because of natural disaster or fault of theirs.
“It is sad that after discussing this one, we will be waiting for the next one. We are only paying in terms of human lives but also in terms of economic loss; we need to investigate it and how to safeguard it in the future,” he added
