Jigawa tanker explosion: Northern govs, Dangote, Offor, donate over N1b to victims

Governors of the 19 northern states in Nigeria under the aegis of Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum, on Saturday, donated over one billion naira to the victims of the petroleum tanker explosion that occurred in Majia, Taura Local Government Area of Jigawa State recently.

The donation was announced at the presidential lodge of the Government House in Dutse by Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, who is also the chairman of the Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

Mr Yahaya said the 19 northern states collectively donated N50 million each to Jigawa state to help the families of the deceased victims and alleviate the suffering of the injured ones following the explosion.

Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf earlier donated N100 million to the victims of the explosion on behalf of the government and the people of Kano State.

Mr Yahaya, who arrived in Dutse in the company with his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed, and the deputy governors of Yobe, Kebbi, Katsina, Borno and Taraba states, said the donation was to ease the pains of the victims and assist the state government in offsetting their medical bills.

“The purpose of the visit is to commiserate with the government and people of Jigawa because the incident is a sad history of not only Jigawa but Nigeria as a whole and we feel at this point to show you our solidarity; we must support you, we must encourage you as your colleagues so that you can overcome this challenge.

“As people of faith, we all agree that whatever happens is from God Almighty, and we thank Him for everything since we cannot change it,” Mr Yahaya said.

In a related development, the Dangote Foundation over the weekend donated N1 million each to the families of the 171 people who lost their lives and N 250,000 each to the 79 Injured victims currently receiving treatment in various health facilities in Jigawa, Yobe, Bauchi and Kano states. The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, announced the donation, at the presidential lodge of the Government House in Dutse.

Also, the Emeka Offor Foundation donated the sum of N150 million to the victims through the state government. Mr Offor, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Chris Ezike, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, said the donation was in line with the foundation’s mission to assist the needy, wherever they are as the situation demands.

The host governor, Mr Namadi, commended the governors, Mr Dangote and Mr Emeka for their kind gestures. He equally appreciated the support shown by President Bola Tinubu. The Jigawa governor said he received timely phone calls from Mr Tinubu and the 36 state governors who reached out to commiserate with the people of the state over the tragic incident.