Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr Dele Alake, has said the forensic report on the Ibadan explosion site will determine the decision of the Federal Government on the incident.
The federal minister said this during his inspection tour of the explosion site at Dejo Oyelese Street, Bodija, Ibadan, on Monday.
Alake also visited the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan to check the victims of the incident and later held a meeting with the state governor, ‘Seyi Makinde.
He maintained that it was important to gather all relevant facts and evidence before drawing any conclusions.
Alake added that it will be presumptuous for the Federal Government to take any step at the moment, noting that any step taking without the forensic report could be misleading.
“The ongoing comprehensive forensic investigation process should be allowed to be concluded to uncover the root causes of the explosion and address any lapses in safety measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
“The Federal Government is awaiting the final report of forensic investigations that is still going on. It will be presumptuous for the Federal Government to make any solid or categorical pronouncement until we have examined all the forensic analysis reports, all the investigations from all the security agencies.
“The mines inspectorate division of the Ministry of Solid Minerals and the intelligence arms of various security agencies are all working round the clock to ensure that there is an authentic and verifiable forensic report to the federal government.
“Then the Federal Government will be on a solid platform to make an informed judgment and a categorical statement. Anything before then would be presumptuous and could be misleading at the end of the day. We don’t operate like that,” Alake said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has commended the Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, for doing a good job in respect of the Ibadan explosion.
Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, said this when he received by the governor after inspecting the site of the explosion at Bodija.
This was as Governor Makinde restated that his administration will do everything possible to look after the affected people and look at all the issues involved.
The Minister of Solid Minerals said President Bola Tinubu and the presidency were impressed by the steps taken so far.
He lauded Makinde for doing what he described as “a yeoman’s job…in terms of the speed of his response to this unfortunate incident.”
Addressing newsmen after a closed-door meeting with the governor, Alake said he was in the state to see the site of the explosion and to commend the governor for his response to the crisis.
He said the Federal Government would allow investigating agencies, including technical and intelligence outfits, to conclude their forensic investigations before making a categorical statement.
Alake said: “After going round the site and the hospital to see the victims and commiserate with them and their families as well as their loved ones, it is proper for me to pay a courtesy call on the governor who has done a yeoman’s job.
“He has done well in terms of the speed of his response to this unfortunate incident.
“You recall that I told you that the president put a phone call through to Governor Makinde to commend and sympathise with him as well as the people of Oyo State, including the victims.
“So, this is a culmination of the establishment of the acknowledgement of the Federal Government on what the governor and the state government have done, which is very remarkable.
“The president is very impressed and we are all impressed too. Nobody wishes for any disaster but we wish that our people would respond commendably to any situation at all. And, on our own part, we immediately swung into action.
“We will allow the investigating agencies, various agencies including technical and intelligence agencies to conclude their forensic investigations before we make any categorical and viable statement on the issue.
“All the corollary issues attending this would be answered at the end of the investigations and everybody will be kept well-informed.
“But my role here is to come and commiserate with the governor and commend the effective efforts he has put in place immediately after the unfortunate incident.”
Governor Makinde maintained that the state government is awaiting the reports of the teams carrying out structural integrity tests on 230 structures around the site of the explosion.
He said the state would extend the temporary accommodation given to victims, while it would also ensure that Ground Zero, the codename given to Dejo Oyelese Close, is safe and secured.
“We would wait for the reports from the teams carrying out the structural integrity test. But the bottom line is, first, we need to extend the temporary accomodation we had given to people.
“We also need to ensure that the place is safe and secure. All the forensic pathologists; what they are doing we have to encourage them to continue. But there is still a lot to be done.
“I don’t think we have faced this kind of calamity around here before, so people should be patient with us. We will do everything on the part of the government here to ensure that people actually get looked after,” Governor Makinde said.
