•••FEC SETS UP COMMITTEE TO REVIEW LAWS ON EXPLOSIVES
•••DIRECTS INVESTIGATION INTO CAUSE OF EXPLOSION
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday mourned the victims of the explosion that rocked Ibadan, the Oyo State capital
The President who presided over the
weekly Federal Executive Council meeting also set up a committee to review the laws guiding the control of explosives in the country.
This is to determine whether explosives were violated by illegal miners in the explosion which destroyed many houses and vehicles in Ibadan.
The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, had told journalists that explosion killed two persons and i hired 77 others. It also destroyed several buildings, vehicles, and other properties.
The Minister of Defense, Mohammed Badaru, who spoke to State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the members of the committee were drawn from all the security agencies, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Solid Minerals.
The Minister said that the Council expressed l worry about the incident and the need to prevent a repetition n in the future.
He said, “In today’s deliberation, the explosion in Ibadan was raised and the government sympathised with the victims and the very good people of Oyo State. And currently investigation is ongoing to find out the real cause of the blast and to see how best we can prevent it happening in the future.
“After that, there is the issue of environmental protection as well as mining, areas protection and forest protection were discussed and a committee was set by Mr. President.
“That includes all the security agencies, Minister of Environment, Ministry of solid minerals to look into all these issues, and see how we can provide lasting solution to stop the issues that centers around environmental degradation both in our forests and the mining sites. And also the the rampant illegal mining and the control of earthing in the mining sector.”
In his response to Governor Seye Makinde’s revelation that the explosion was caused by explosives stored by illegal miners, the minister noted that there was also suspicion in some quarters that it might have been gas explosion.
“The first question has to do with Ibadan explosion where the governor said that preliminary investigation suggested that there are some explosives around the area where it happened that are owned by some illegal miners.
“Well, we have seen that report. There is another report suggesting that it was a gas explosion. So, our team are there trying to find out what is the cause.
“But for the council to be proactive, it has already set up the committee that I told you to look into how the control of explosives law was broken if indeed there are explosives around the area where this incident happened.
“That was why the committee was set up to look at the rules to see where the chain is broken and see how it can be fixed and gather more information if this is happening rampantly around the country.
“You all know that there is strict rule in the storage, movement and ownership of these explosives and the rule is being monitored. If there is any case of breakdown, we will find out and deal with it”, he said.
Also, President Tinubu in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, expressed sadness over the explosion.
He said that those behind the explosion must be fished out and dealt with.
“It is worrisome that the cause of the blast is being attributed to the activities of illegal miners. Those behind the inexcusable and reckless behaviour that has created the conditions for the sad incident to occur must be fished out and punished.
“President Tinubu commiserated with the government and people of Oyo State and called on all concerned agencies of government to unravel the circumstances that led to the tragedy with alacrity.
“The President directs the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to work with the Oyo State Government to offer immediate and comprehensive relief to the victims”, the statement read.