Ondo tanker explosion: Residents protest government insensitivity

THE residents of Shagari village along Akure/Owo road in Ondo State, where five people were burnt to death, protested against the attitude of the State and Federal Governments to prevent frequent accidents at the junction.

The protesters who barricaded the ever busy highway causing traffic gridlock on the road, lamenting over the State of the road which has claimed many lives.

Speaking on the behalf of the protesters, one of the community leaders, Bisi Mayowa, complained over the incessant accident on the spot and called on the State Government to find a lasting solution to it.

According to him, most of the accidents that occurred on the highway were avoidable if the government had been sensitive to the complaints of the people living in the area over the matter.

He said the government was not showing any concern about the welfare of the people of the area in respect of road accidents prevention.

He said: “We have to stage this protest because if we don’t, our government would not know what we are facing in this area, as I am talking to you, many lives have been lost on this expressway.

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“Also, I that am talking to you, my father died at this junction, so also many other people like that have gone to their early graves as a result of the accident at this junction. So we are calling on the government to either erect bumps or expand the expressway to prevent the frequent accident.”

The protesters, however, vowed to continue the protest until the State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu or addressed the issue.

They called on the government to either erect speed breakers at the junction or erect a flyover or expand the road as a preventive measure to stem down the rate of accident at the spot.

However, motorists and travellers were stranded on the road, as there was no alternative route out of the town, while the protesters vowed not to vacate the road despite all the appeal from some security agents and men of the Federal Road Safety Corps .

However, the Ondo State Deputy Governor, Mr. Agboola Ajayi rushed to the scene of the protest, appealing to the protesters to be patient with the government.

He promised that the government would fina d solution to the problem, saying the State Government was committed to the welfare of the people of the State.

“We will erect the bumps on the expressway within two weeks,” Ajayi promised.

Agboola promised that the State Government would assist the victims of the inferno, assuring that some government representatives would soon visit the victims of the inferno to do the estimation of their losses.

Similarly, the senator representing Ondo Central Senatorial District, Tayo Alasoadura, who also visited the scene promised to assist the victims with N2m.