Olusegun Ariyo
Jigawa State Governor Umah Namadi has put the current death toll in the tanker explosion in the state at 181, with another 80 persons in critical condition in hospital.
Namadi who was at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday to brief President Bola Tinubu on the situation, revealed that a total of 210 families were affected by the inferno.
Recall that the incident occurred on Tuesday, October 15 when a truck carrying petrol, travelling from Kano to Nguru in Yobe State, exploded in Majia, located in the Taura LGA of Jigawa State.
The incident resulted in the immediate death of over 100 individuals and injuries to many others who were scooping fuel.
The governor said the state has already established a high powered committee under the chairmanship of a retired DIG to investigate the remote causes of the incident and then advise the government on what to do.
Speaking to State House correspondents, Namadi said, “The situation as at today is that we have about 181 people that died and about 80 people in the hospital and about 210 families affected by this.
“I came here to brief Mr President about what happened to us, the tragic incident that happened in Jigawa State which claimed a lot of lives.
“We felt it is important to come and brief Mr President on what we are doing as a government and also to thank him for sending a delegation immediately this incident happened.
“Of course, the state government has taken the medical bill of all the affected people. We have done a lot of intervention to the families, to ensure that they continue their livelihood, and also Mr President has promised to intervene and assist the victims.
“The state government has already established a high powered committee under the chairmanship of a retired DIG to investigate the remote causes of that incident and then advise the government on what to do.
“You should also remember that Mr President has given a directive immediately to the Corps Marshal that he should investigate this matter, and he should come up with a permanent solution to this problem in this country.”
