President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed shock as he sympathises with victims of the Abule Ado explosion in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, which occurred in the early morning of Sunday.
In a short statement, President Buhari also expressed shock at the tragedy which many has described as a black Sunday.
“I have received with sadness the news of this unfortunate incident which caused the loss of lives and property.
“A misfortune of whatever scale anywhere is a tragedy to the country, and while the NNPC makes efforts to determine the cause of the incident, I send my deepest and profound sympathies to the victims, their families, government and people of Lagos State,” the President said.
In the vein, the Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) also expressed its sympathy with victims of the disaster which, it noted, resulted in deaths, injuries and damages to property.
The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, condoled with families of the dead and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
“We commend the emergency response led by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, the Fire Service and other agencies in quickly containing the incident and attending to injured victims of the explosion.
“While the party deeply condoles with families and loved ones over recorded deaths, we also wish the injured a speedy and full recovery and sympathise with residents who lost property in the explosion. We are confident that the Lagos state government will implement measures to bring succour to the victims,” it said.
The blast, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), was caused by a human error.
The corporation, in a statement, added that the blast occurred after a truck hit some gas cylinders stacked in a gas processing plant located near the corporation’s System 2B pipeline right of way.
A media report has it that Spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed that at least 15 bodies have been recovered and efforts are ongoing to rescue victims trapped under caved-in structures.
