•Group accuses RCC of causing accident
•NGF advocates safer PMS transportation
From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has disclosed the cause of the tanker explosion that burnt dozens of vehicles and roasted some persons in Aleto Eleme axis of East-West Road, near Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The Rivers State Corps Commander, CC Christopher Kuje, made the disclosure in a statement made available to Daily Sun in Port Harcourt on Sunday.
He stated that preliminary investigation revealed that the incident happened when two drivers jostling for space collided sideways and caused rupture in the tanker carrying petroleum product.
The Corps Commander said the incident occurred a few minutes after 8pm, on the road which is currently under reconstruction.
“Two truck drivers were jostling for space when their vehicles collided sideways, causing a rupture in the trailer of the truck carrying petroleum which resulted in petrol leakage and fire explosion.”
According to him, four persons lost their lives and 60 vehicles burnt in the carnage.
Kuje stated that FRSC personnel apart from traffic control, created diversion through Oyigbo as alternative route to ease traffic.
He said: “We met the directive of the Governor of Rivers State to ensure that the road is freed for movement before the close of the day.
“We mobilized Indorama Petrochemicals to provide a Crane that successfully removed all the trucks from the road at about 5:30pm.
“The carcasses by the shoulders of the road are also evacuated away by low bed trucks provided by the same company.
Staff from three Commands namely RS6.1 (Rivers sector Command), RS6.11 (Eleme Unit Command) and RS6.16 (Obi/Akpor Unit Command) were mobilized to the scene for effective traffic management.
“Traffic control is still ongoing to enhance prompt removal of all burnt vehicles for free vehicular movement.”
Meanwhile, the All Property Owners on the Eleme East-West Road has accused the constructing firm, RCC, of poor handling of the road leading to the carnage that was recorded on Friday night.
Chairman of the group, Joseph Obele, in a statement said: “The poor handling and inability of RCC to provide smooth alternative route or ease of traffic is the root cause of the fire accident; hence, RCC should pay for all the damages caused by the fire accident, after which the contract should be revoked immediately.
“The deplorable state of the Eleme East West road triggered massive coordinated protest by the Youths of Eleme, supported by the Youths Ogoni and Okrika, after which the road construction was re-awarded to RCC.
“The signing of the contract by RCC attracted protest letters from community stakeholders and users of the road because it was obvious that RCC never had the capacity and reputation to handle such contract.
“The Eleme East West road can be described as one of the most economic strategic road in Nigeria and such critical road should be awarded to one of the first most reputable construction companies in Nigeria which RCC is not one.
“Since the commencement of the slow pace construction by RCC, road users are lamenting every day for the inability of RCC to provide smooth alternative route.
“Motorists and business operators on the said road are counting loses arising from the hours spent on traffic because of the construction done by RCC.”
However, The Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) has said that discussions were advancing among the 36 State governors and strategic federal agencies in the oil and gas industry over the adoption of safer methods of transportation of petroleum products across the country.
Chairman of the forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, gave the hint on Sunday in Government House, Port Harcourt, when he visited to commiserate with Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the people and Government of Rivers State over the Friday night’s tanker inferno which claimed the lives of five persons and razed over 120 vehicles on the Indorama-Aleto bridge axis of the East-West Road in Eleme Local Government Area.
AbdulRazaq, who is also the Governor of Kwara State, recalled a similar carnage in Ogun State, which was caused by a tanker conveying compressed natural gas (CNG) that impacted lives.
Governor AbdulRazaq described what happened in Rivers State as a huge loss, and said his meeting with Governor Fubara availed them the opportunity to have peer review discussions over the recurring decimal.
He said: “I came over to commiserate with the Government and people of Rivers State over the tanker fire incident and the subsequent huge loss of lives. May the souls of the departed rest in peace.
“We have peer review discussions over it. And similar incident happened in Ogun State as well, which you are aware of, and that’s a CNG tanker, Rivers State was petrol tanker.”
Governor AbdulRazaq also said: “We also spoke with the Head of the Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency, and there will be a review of some laws. There will also be engagement between the Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency and State Agencies in terms of ensuring health and safety on these issues.
“As you know, Nigeria relies a lot, virtually, on pipelines for the movement of petroleum products, and we need to strengthen regulations in that sector, and also emphasize on improving and expanding pipelines for the transportation of products as well.”