• Friday, March 29, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

Governors donate N200m to Abule Ado explosion relief fund

Abule-ado fire disaster: Insurance as enduring solution to disasters
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has donated N200 million to boost the Abule Ado explosion relief fund set up last week by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to support victims of the disaster.
At least 22 people died in the explosion which occurred on Sunday, March 15, 2020, while over 276 were displaced.
No fewer than 170 buildings and 43 vehicles were also destroyed in the disaster, which had been linked to a gas pipeline.
Investigations is, however, still ongoing by a committee constituted by the Lagos State government, to ascertain the remote and immediate cause(s) of the explosion and recommend ways to prevent a future occurrence.
The governors made the donation after visiting the scene on Saturday, March 21, and observed the level of damage that trailed the explosion and its attendant wildfires.
Donations for the victims were triggered by Governor Sanwo-Olu, who set up an N2 billion relief fund and donated N250 million on behalf of Lagos State government, for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the community.
Some of the governors that visited the scene together with Sanwo-Olu on Saturday include Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, who doubles as the chairman of NGF, Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State,  and his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki.
Announcing the governors’ donation, chairman of the forum, Fayemi expressed dissatisfaction with the level of damage recorded at the scene.
The governors’ visit came a day after another corpse was recovered from the rubble, bringing the total number of deaths to 22.