By Austin Ogwuda
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State has blamed the Federal government of Nigeria for the petrol tanker explosion which occurred at Koko junction, along Warri – Benin Highway on Sunday.
The governor while extending his condolences to the families of the victims, disclosed that he had despatched a team of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) led by Mr. Ejiro Terry Etacherure, Commissioner for Special Duties to provide help and support for the victims.
The governor’s message was contained in press statement on his behalf by the Chief Press Secretary CPS Festus Ahon.
The statement reads, “in the early hours of today, we got information that an explosion occurred at Koko junction along the Warri-Benin expressway.
“On behalf of the Government and people of Delta State, I commiserate with families of the victims who lost their lives to the inferno.
“This sad and unfortunate incident would have been avoided if the Federal Government had lived up to their responsibility of maintaining their roads.
“While I mourn the deceased, I use this medium to reiterate my earlier call on the Federal Government to save the lives of our people from these harrowing experiences.
“I also use this medium to advise our people to refrain from the dangerous act of scooping fuel from a fallen tanker because of the highly inflammable nature of the product”.