Senator Olufemi Lanlehin (Solan) has described the explosion that rocked Dejo Oyelese Street, Adeyi, Bodija on Tuesday, 16 January, 2024 as terrible, pathetic and most disturbing, noting that while he sympathises with victims, he knows that only God Almighty can actually console them.
Lanlehin, in a statement by his Media Assistant, Dr. Damola Adeoye, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, noted that the degree and extent of the explosion underscored the need for synergy between states and the federal government, especially on the control of solid minerals and the issuance of licences for explosives, so that states are able to monitor same, and act speedily in the interests of public safety.
“A situation where the state government isn’t in charge of issuing licences for solid mineral exploitation as well as those for explosives, disables its capacity to act swiftly to prevent misuse and abuse, which unfortunately have been implicated as cause of Tuesday’s tragic explosion,” the APC chieftain said.
“Perhaps, more than ever, this is another opportunity for us to reflect on Nigeria’s need for restructuring, to empower states to act in the best interests of their people,” said Lanlehin, who represented Oyo South Senatorial District between 2011 and 2015.
Condoling the people and government of Oyo State, particularly victims who lost loved ones and properties to the explosion, Lanlehin urged the state government to consider considerable compensation to victims, as well as prosecution for the perpetrators of this heinous criminality.
Particularly, Senator Lanlehin sympathised with some of his known associates who lost valuables to the tragic explosion – a former Oyo State deputy governor, Barrister Iyiola Oladokun, Chief Niyi Akintola, SAN, family of the late former governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, amongst others.
“I pray that God Almighty repose the souls of the departed, as He grants their families and loved ones the fortitude to bear their unfortunate demise,” he concluded.
