Lagos state govt. promises improved safety measures for residents

The Lagos State Government has promised to continue its effort to ensure the safety of Lagosians and will never abandon them to any fate that befalls them. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Relations, Dr. Ibironke Sodeinde, said this on Friday during her visit to the victims of the Owode-Onirin Scrap Market cylinder explosion receiving treatment at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

Sodeinde disclosed that the government would pay the medical bills incurred in the course of the victims’ treatment as a demonstration of its commitment to their well-being. “This, we believe, will cushion the financial hardship on their families,” she added.


She said, “Firefighters are essential to public safety; they engage in putting out fires and pulling people from burning cars, buildings and other dangerous situations. To this end, the government has insured them, improved their welfare packages and equipped their facilities to reduce their vulnerability to dangers.”

The victims, who were 11 in number, were rushed to the hospital as a result of direct exposure to suspected ammonia gas discharged from busted abandoned cylinders, causing the firefighters and the traders to be unconscious. Seven of the victims had been discharged, while the remaining were in stable condition and responding to treatment.