Ibadan prince donates relief materials to explosion victims

One of the princes of Ibadanland in Oyo State, Abioye Oloyede-Asanke, on Sunday donated relief materials to victims of Tuesday’s explosion which occurred at Bodija Estate in Ibadan.

Mr Oloyede-Asanke, while speaking during the presentation of the relief materials at the explosion’s Emergency Situation Hub, said the gesture was to identify with the victims at this critical period.

He added that the relief materials would also complement efforts by the state government to provide succour to victims of the incident and their relatives.

“I am here to sympathise with the victims of the unfortunate Bodija explosion and to also provide some relief materials and aid to the victims. It is so unfortunate that this kind of ugly incident could have been avoided. I am here on behalf of my foundation, Handalat Oloyede Foundation, to join hands with the government.

“I want to promise that we have a lot of assistance to render to the victims, and also assist the government in providing succour at this critical time. The foundation will reach out to as many as possible through the provision of relief materials, accommodation and through other means,” Mr Oloyede-Asanke said.

Also, the Incident Manager, Ibadan Explosion Site, Prof. Temitope Alonge, disclosed that the Oyo State government was already in collaboration with the Nigerian Society of Engineers on the explosion.

He said that they had started structural integrity test on the buildings affected by the explosion.

Mr Alonge noted that the Oyo State chapter of the NSE began the integrity assessment of affected structures on Wednesday and had so far covered about 50 metres radius.

He added that Governor Seyi Makinde also granted permission to the NSE to go up to 500 metres buffer to assess the level of damages and integrity of the structures.

“We don’t want people to come in and build. We do not want buildings to start collapsing on them,” Mr Alonge said.

The explosion which occurred on Tuesday killed five persons, injured 77 and rendered thousands homeless in the state.

The relief materials donated by Mr Oloyede-Asanke included milk, noodles, tea, toiletries, food items and other essential household materials.