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Ibadan explosion: PFN expresses concern about explosives stored in residentials

The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Presiding Bishop of Sword of The Spirits Ministries, Wale Oke has expressed his reservation over the storage of explosives in the residential area with the reported blast that occured in the Bodija area, Ibadan

Bishop Oke during an on-the-spot assessment of the extent of damage done by the blast which left in its trail the death of five persons while 77 others are being treated for various degrees of injuries sustained said that the accident could have been averted if greater value was accorded to human lives.

He, therefore, called on the security agencies to keep track of the activities of the miners, borehole drillers and well diggers in the state in a bid to avert a recurrence.

Bishop Oke also stresses the need for a thorough investigation to unearth more facts about the incident.

Bishop Oke, who was at the scene while body parts were still being pulled out of the rubbles created by the explosion, commended Governor Seyi Makinde who was said to have gone to Abuja to brief President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the incident, for his swift response and for mobilizing the first respondents to the scene of the blast.

He called on the Federal Government to “be more decisive in dealing with the horrible level of corruption that has pervaded every strata of the Nigerian society which has allowed this and several horrible disasters currently afflicting our society, resulting in the death of several innocent citizens.”

While appealing to the state and federal government to rise to the occasion by giving necessary support to the affected families and businesses in the area, he also advised that full safety protocols should be deployed to mitigate both the immediate and remote impacts of the explosion on human lives and the environment.

He assured the affected people, the government and the residents of the state of continued prayers by the PFN and other Christian bodies in the country, he advised the residents’ association and the security agencies to keep track of those living in their midst.

Bishop Oke led prayers for the families of the dead victims, the officials of the state handling the recovery efforts, the state Governor and President Tinubu.

He, thereafter, paid a visit to the former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Senator Iyiola Oladokun, whose residence is a stone’s throw to the scene

Bishop Oke was received during the visit by Prof. Temitope Alonge, Chairman, Oyo State Covid-19 Taskforce; Commissioner for Health, Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi; Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Security Matters, Fatai Owoseni; and a Director of the Federal Road Safety Commission.

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