December 16, (THEWILL) – The Oyo State Governorship Candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Engr Joshua Olukayode Popoola, has sympathised with the people of Apata Market, Ibadan, where a petrol tanker skipped off the road and caught fire, which wreaked havoc on many shops along the Ibadan-Abeokuta road, in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State on Thursday.
Engr Popoola said though no life was reportedly lost in the inferno, the damages done to shops with goods, worth several millions of Naira, which are the means of livelihood of the owners with a lot of dependants, caused him great grief.
He expressed his heartfelt sympathy to the owners of the shops and their families and the entire people of Oyo state, particularly, those in the Apata area, where commercial activities have been disrupted due to the fire incident since Thursday.
The NNPP candidate said that though the incident came unexpected, he was of the view that if the government of the day has been responsive to the feelings of the people, some of the accidents and calamities on the roads and highways would have been avoided.
He, therefore, used the incident to appeal to the Federal government for the dualisation of the Ibadan-Abeokuta road, which according to him, has been long overdue.
He said that successive administrators and Executive governors, who had ruled and presently ruling the State, ought to have pressed for the reconstruction and dualisation of the Ibadan-Abeokuta road.
He, however, promised that when he gets to office as the governor of Oyo state, one of his priorities would be to collaborate with the Federal government to get the road done.
He also noted that Apata, in his opinion was too clumsy with heavy vehicular movements, which always caused traffic nuisance on the road, especially the Apata market axis.
He said the incident has now reinforced the call for the relocation of the Apata market, to a new place where traffic would not be disrupted.
This, he pointed out would be one of his major priorities in government.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
