VICTIMS of a tanker fire incident in Apata area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital, have called on the state Governor Seyi Makinde to come to their aid after they were shortchanged in the disbursement of the N10m that the governor gave them to cushion the effect of their losses.
A truck ferrying petrol from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Apata depot, on November 15, 2022 fell into a ditch at the busy Apata bus stop located along the tiny Ibadan-Abeokuta road, with scores of traders losing goods worth millions of naira. Some houses close to the bust stop were also burnt when the content to the tanker spilled into their premises.
During an on-the-spot- assessment of the situation, Makinde had donated N10m to those affected in the fire.
Nigerian24Hours quoted the aggrieved victims, who stormed the Nigeria Union of Journalists secretariat in Ibadan during their protest with placards bearing various inscriptions, said they were left out or given insignificant share of the Makinde largesse. They stated that 45 beneficiaries were listed as beneficiaries after the money was given in cash but the list grew to more than 70 later.
They also claimed that four persons, namely Ashifat Abdullahi, Aminat Bamidele, Abiodun Tejuoso and Olayiwola were chosen to represent the victims.
They also claimed that the beneficiaries’ list was later doctored to accommodate those who were not affected, while the four representatives apportioned to themselves huge sums.
“My name is Olasunkanmi Adunni, popularly known as Iya Agoro, a bread and essential goods seller affected by the fire. The first day that the governor visited the scene of the accident, he promised to give us N10m as relief fund and later, his representatives brought the cash to us.
“There were 45 names in the list but unfortunately, that list increased with those who were not affected included. In fact, we don’t know the new beneficiaries. The house I lived in and store my goods was burnt and I was only lucky to escape with my four children.
“Initially, the sum of N500,000 was penciled as the amount I was to collect but I was only given N100,000. Aminat Bamidele, who did not lose anything to the fire because she was not among the traders affected got N300,000. Someone who claimed to be a shoemaker got N200,000. I lost over N12m worth of property to the fire. Bamidele was said to have claimed that there is nothing we can do as she has several influential people as in the list of her boyfriends.”
Another aggrieved beneficiary, Temilade Makinde, popularly known Iya Dada, whose store was burnt in the fire, said she was promised N500,000 but got N60,000.
She said, “A day before the fire incident, I stocked the store with N1.3m worth of food stuffs but everything is gone including the building housing the store. In the list, N500,000 was estimated as compensation for me but after the list was doctored, I was given N60,000.
“We appeal to the governor to investigate the disbursement of the money and retrieve victims’ money from imposters.”
