Nigerian govt to compensate victims of Ogun gas explosion

The Federal Government has promised to compensate families of victims in last weekend’s gas explosion in Ogun State.

Some people were killed when a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) truck lost control due to a brake failure and rammed into the road barricade in the Ita Oshin area of Abeokuta, the state capital, on Saturday.

Several people were injured and properties were destroyed in the incident.

The Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, who addressed journalists during an on-the-spot assessment of the situation on Wednesday in Abeokuta, said the government would also compensate the injured and those who lost properties in the incident.

He described the incident as regrettable.

The minister, who was accompanied to the scene by the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, noted that anything below proper standard would not be tolerated.

He directed CNG companies to involve the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and ensure that whatever is used in all vehicles meets the necessary standards.

Ekpo said: “What we’re emphasising is maintaining standard; anything that falls below that will not be appreciated.

“We noticed cracks in the cylinders when we visited the junkyard and this may be because it wasn’t up to standard thereby causing friction forcing it open.

“If this is not checked and we call our people to install it in their vehicles without ascertaining the standard, it’ll pose more danger.

“This is a wake-up call to you and us that we should rise to the challenge of the day and involve regulators to make sure we stick to standards so that we don’t have a recurrence of this.

“We thank God that the cylinder didn’t explode; it would have been a different story.”

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