Delta Central Senator, Chief Ede Dafinone has expressed his deep condolences to the victims of the petrol tanker explosion at Ugbenu, along the Sapele-Benin road in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State, calling on the Federal Government to take immediate action in fixing the failed sections of the highway.
The tragic explosion which occurred in the early hours of Sunday, 1st October 2023, around the popular Koko Junction, claimed five lives, according to the police report, with properties worth millions of naira lost in the incident.
In a statement in Warri on Tuesday, the lawmaker decried the untold hardship commuters face on the Warri-Benin road daily, spending close to five hours on the road on a journey that shouldn’t last for about an hour due to the deplorable state of the road.
The Senator however encouraged members of the public to remain vigilant and adhere to safety precautions, particularly when encountering accidents or incidents involving hazardous materials, and also avoid the temptation of scooping fuel.
He urged individuals to report any road hazards promptly and to support the ongoing efforts to improve road infrastructure for the benefit of all.
Dafinone said: “The Ugbenu fire incident is a devastating tragedy that has claimed the lives of five individuals and caused significant damage to properties, this is very unfortunate.
“My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones and to all those affected by this unfortunate event. We must come together as a community to provide support and assistance to those who have suffered such immense loss.
“The loss of lives and destruction of properties in this incident are deeply distressing. We must prioritize the safety and well-being of our citizens by ensuring that our roads are in a good state,” the lawmaker emphasised.
While reiterating the call for the federal government to expedite action on fixing the dilapidated roads in Delta State, Dafinone noted that the incident would have been avoided if not for the failed sections on the road which caused the tanker loaded with PMS to fall and spill its contents.
He said: “I call on the Federal Government and other relevant agencies to expedite action in addressing the issue of bad roads, particularly the Warri-Benin Road, to prevent future tragedies like this from occurring.
“The poor state of Warri-Benin road needs emergency attention, our people have been subjected to untold hardship since the only access road connecting the Niger Delta got bad”.
He noted with concern that man hours are lost daily to traffic on the Warri-Benin road because of its bad state. The only major road connecting the two states of the Niger Delta region is taking a huge toll on economic activities and the social life of people who daily journey through that route.
“A journey that takes about an hour from Warri to Benin now takes an average of 4 to 5 hours or more, this has affected economic activities on this corridor and if urgent steps are not taken to fix this road, the entire Niger Delta would be cut off from other parts of the country.
“As your representative at the National Assembly, we will continue to bring the attention of the Government to the urgent need for road infrastructure improvements and the allocation of resources to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“I will continue to engage with relevant authorities and advocate for the necessary measures to be taken to ensure the safety of our citizens on the roads,” Senator Dafinone affirmed.
“We owe it to the memory of the victims of the Ugbenu fire incident and to the community at large to make our roads safer and more reliable”, he said.
