Oyo explosion: Makinde inaugurates relief disbursement committee

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday, inaugurated a committee on the management/disbursement of the Bodija Explosion Relief Fund.

PUNCH Online reports that an explosion rocked Dejo Oyelese Street, Bodija Ibadan, on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, which claimed many lives while many others sustained serious injuries.

The governor equally said the road to Dejo Oyelese Street, the scene of the explosion, would be fixed while a monument would also be erected around the area.

Makinde, who inaugurated the 10-man committee at the Governor’s Office, Ibadan, charged them to ensure transparency in carrying out their responsibilities to those who were affected by the incident.

The governor, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, in Ibadan, the state capital, said their job is to oversee the management and disbursement of the relief fund to those who lost property to the explosion.

He stressed that the government was providing support to the people affected and not compensation, noting that his administration was interested in doing the right thing for the people of the state.

Makinde appreciated the various professional bodies that worked with the state when the incident happened for their support, charging them to incorporate people who would work efficiently with the committee and put the resources where needed.

“The committee is made up of the state Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal (Chairman); a former Deputy Governor of the state and Chairman, Dejo Oyelese Vigilante Group, Iyiola Oladokun; Muyiwa Bamgbose, Chairman, Bodija Estate Residents Association; Gafar Bello, Executive Assistant on Finance, Budget and Planning; Ojuolape Busari, Secretary, the state Emergency Management Agency.

“Others are the nominee of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ibrahim Lawal; the nominee of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Oluseye Ojo; the nominee of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Ibrahim Bello; nominee of Dejo Oyelese Vigilante Group, Arinola Olanipekun and the nominee of the Bodija Estate Residents Association, David Afolayan.”

In attendance at the inauguration was former Deputy Governor of the state, Hamid Gbadamosi; wife of former Governor of the state, Mutiat Ladoja; former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Monsurat Sumonu; Chief of Staff to the Governor Makinde, Segun Ogunwuyi; Head of Service, Olubunmi Oni; Commissioners and Senior Executive Assistant to the Governor on General Duties, Bayo Lawal.

Others were the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, CP Fatai Owoseni (retd), the state secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Wasiu Adeleke; co-chairman of the state Elders’ Council, Wole Oyelese; and Chairman of the Association of Local Governments in the state, Sikiru Sanda, among other dignitaries.