House Urges NEMA, Humanitarian Ministry to Provide Relief Materials for Victims of Delta Explosion

•Senator wants FG to repair Warri-Benin, other failed roads

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Sylvester Idowu in Warri

The House of Representatives has called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to immediately send relief materials to affected victims and settle medical bills of those hospitalised in the tanker explosion in Delta state.

This was just as the Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Senator Ede Dafinone yesterday, expressed condolences to the victims of the recent petroleum tanker fire incident that took place at Ugbenu near Koko junction in Ethiope West Local Government Area.

The decision of the House of Representatives followed the adoption of a motion moved at the plenary yesterday, by Hon. Thomas Ereyitomi.

He said the unfortunate loss of over 20 lives including children and women on Sunday, October 1, 2023, when a fallen tanker laden with petrol exploded at Koko Junction in the Warri-Benin highway in Delta State.

Ereyitomi, noted that apart from the deaths recorded, other people sustained different degrees of injuries while over 16 vehicles and three motorcycles were destroyed by the inferno.

He expressed worry that the unfortunate incident would further worsen the plight of road users who already had to cope with massive gridlock occasioned by the dilapidated road; spending days on a journey that should ordinarily not exceed 45 minutes.

Ereyitomi, lamented that the Warri-Benin highway was plagued by a significant number of accidents each year, often involving tankers and other heavy duty vehicles which topple over as drivers maneuver failed portions of the road.

He said with the accident, commuters and motorists would become more exposed to attacks by hoodlums/miscreants who take advantage of such situations to wreak havoc.

The lawmaker noted that the failed portions of the road had become a death trap for users of the road with little or no remedial efforts from any quarter over a period of time to pose this kind of danger;

In its ruling, the House urged, “the National Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to immediately send relief materials to affected victims and settle medical bills of those hospitalised.”

It also urged the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to expedite action on the rehabilitation of the Warri-Benin highway and other federal roads around the country with a view to forestalling future occurrence.

Meanwhile, Dafinone yesterday, expressed deep condolences to the victims of the recent petroleum tanker fire incident at Ugbenu near Koko junction in Ethiope West Local Government Area.

He called on the federal government to take immediate action in fixing the bad sections of the Benin-Warri road to prevent a repeat of the incident.

The tragic incident occurred in the early hours of last Sunday along the Warri – Benin Road at Ugbenu Koko Junction, claiming several lives  with properties worth several millions of Naira razed.

The Delta Central lawmaker, while reiterating the call for the federal government to expedite action on fixing failed portions of major highways in Delta State, noted that the incident could have been avoided if not for the bad spot on the road which caused the tanker loaded with petrol to fall and spill its contents.

He decried the untold hardship commuters face on the Warri-Benin road daily, spending close to five hours on the road on a journey that shouldn’t last for about an hour due to the deplorable state of the road.

The Senator lamented man hours lost daily to traffic on Warri-Benin road, because of the bad state of the road, the only major road connecting the two states of the Niger Delta region, taking a huge toll on economic activities and the social life of the people who daily journey through that route.

“The Ugbenu fire incident is a devastating tragedy that has claimed the lives of five individuals and caused significant damage to properties, this is very unfortunate.

“My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones and to all those affected by this unfortunate event.

“We must come together as a community to provide support and assistance to those who have suffered such immense loss.

“The loss of lives and destruction of properties in this incident are deeply distressing. We must prioritise the safety and well-being of our citizens by ensuring that our roads are in a good state,” Dafinone emphasised.

He, therefore, called on the federal government and other relevant agencies to expedite action in addressing the issue of bad roads, particularly the Warri – Benin Road, to prevent tragedies from occurring.

“The poor state of Warri-Benin road needs an emergency attention; our people have been subjected to untold hardship since the only access road connecting the Niger Delta got terribly bad.

“A journey that takes about an hour from Warri to Benin, now take an average of four to five hours or more, this has affected economic activities on this corridor and if urgent steps are not taken to fix this road, the entire Niger Delta would be cut off from other parts of the country.

“As your representative at the National Assembly, we will continue to bring the attention of the government to the urgent need for road infrastructure improvements and the allocation of resources to prevent similar incidents in the future.

“I will continue to engage with relevant authorities and advocate for the necessary measures to be taken to ensure the safety of our citizens on the roads,” Senator Dafinone affirmed.