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The People Assembly for Good Governance (PAGG) weekend urged the Edo state government to compensate traders whose shops and goods were destroyed in the Oluku tanker fire, while also calling for urgent repairs of roads across the state to prevent further accidents.
The group admonished Governor Monday Okpebholo to relocate traders operating close to the Benin-Lagos Expressway to safer locations and establish well-equipped fire service stations across the state’s 18 local government areas.
PAGG made the demands in a statement signed by its national chairman, Dr Samson Isibor, and national secretary, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nkama, in which it expressed sympathy with families of those who died, injured victims and traders affected by the inferno.
The organisation described the incident as avoidable, blaming what it called inadequate attention to public safety infrastructure by the state government.
It questioned the absence of a well-equipped fire service station in Oluku, a busy and expanding community along the Benin-Lagos Expressway, noting, “functional emergency response facilities could help reduce casualties and property losses during disasters.”
The group also alleged that the poor condition of roads, particularly potholes, contributed to accidents, including the tanker incident opposite Buvel Petrol Station in Oluku.
It urged the government to complement its promise to rebuild the affected market with concrete measures to address the safety concerns that contributed to the tragedy.
PAGG said, “compensating the affected traders would enable them to rebuild their businesses and recover their livelihoods after losing their goods and sources of income.”
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