Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State has sent his condolences to the families of victims who got burnt, following a tanker explosion at Koko junction, along Warri–Benin Expressway on Sunday.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon, in Asaba, the Governor commiserated with the victims’ families on the sad incident.
He disclosed that the State Emergency Management Agency, led by the Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr Ejiro Terry was already at the scene to provide help and support for the victims.
Governor Oborevwori, who blamed the unfortunate incident on the poor state of federal roads, once again called on the Federal Government to expedite action in reconstructing failed portions of the road.
He said that citizens of the state and commuters encounter harrowing experiences navigating the road and called on the authorities to as a matter of utmost importance and urgency fix the road to avoid further incidents like this.
Governor Oborevwori also used the opportunity to caution the people against taking the risk of attempting to scoop fuel from a fallen tanker, adding that it was a time bomb waiting to explode.
He said: “In the early hours of today, we got information that an explosion occurred at Koko junction along the Warri-Benin expressway.
“On behalf of the government and people of Delta State, I commiserate with families of the victims who lost their lives to the inferno.
“This sad and unfortunate incident would have been avoided if the Federal Government had lived up to their responsibility of maintaining their roads.
“While I mourn the deceased, I use this medium to reiterate my earlier call on the Federal Government to save the lives of our people from these harrowing experiences.
“I also use this medium to advise our people to refrain from the dangerous act of scooping fuel from a fallen tanker because of the highly inflammable nature of the product”.
