Amuwo-Odofin: Gas explosion kills 1, injures three

 

The scene of the gas explosion.

A gas explosion rocked Amuwo-Odofin Industrial Estate, Lagos, Thursday night.

A man identified as Hassan Usman was reportedly burst to death in the resultant fire, while three others who had varying degrees of burns were rushed to a hospital in Mushin area of the state.

Also, property worth several millions of naira were destroyed in the inferno.

The explosion which occurred at Archers Gas Limited, sent residents most of whom jostled from their sleep scampering in different directions for safety, as they mistook it for an invasion by armed hoodlums.

A resident who identified himself simply as Alabi, said: “we heard a loud bang like the sound of a bomb and everybody ran for safety. We later discovered that it was from the gas company. One man who was burnt to death was taken to the mortuary.”

Police sources at Area ‘E’ command,Festac,explained that “at about 11pm, of March 31,2022, Personal Assistant to Managing Director of Archers Gas Limited located on 19B Amuwo Odilofin Industrial estate, Bode Adelu, came to the station accompanied by the factory Manager, Obatade Wasiu.

“He said there was an explosion in the company. They also confirmed that one person died while three others were injured and rushed to Awesome Hospital, Mushin. 

“ Immediately we got the report, our DPO, CSP Gboyega Balogun, led a team of policemen to the scene where necessary action was done and the body of Usman was evacuated and taken to the Mainland Hospital Mortuary for autopsy. “ The cause of the explosion is yet to be determined, “ he said. 

Commissioner urges stakeholders to promote Lagos tourism centres

Commissioner for Tourism Arts and Culture, Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf has urged tour operators and other stakeholders in the industry to ensure proper promotion and marketing of the various tourist centres across the state.

She made the appeal Thursday during the “bestoflagosfamtour22”, organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to familiarise Nigerians with the tourism centers in the state in a bid to attract local and international tourists.

She led stakeholders on visits to the African Shrine at Ikeja, Ikeja and Oshodi Bus Terminals, J. Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History and the Freedom Park in Lagos Island, among others.

Speaking specifically at the J. Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, at Onikan, the Commissioner stated that the Centre which is slated for completion later in the year should be given adequate awareness and publicity by the media and other relevant stakeholders in the tourism sector to ensure patronage for the Centre as soon as its completed.

According to her, the state government has provided all needed support to achieve the timely delivery of the Centre by the contractors handling the project.

A representative of Studio Imagine Simply Architecture, Mr. Damilare Ojewole, whose firm is the Principal Consultant to the state government on the reconstruction of J Randle Centre said that the first phase of the construction which had to do with civil works, would soon be completed while the final phase which had to do with installation of artefacts, would start immediately.

Manager, New Afrika Shrine in Ikeja, Lagos, Mr. Sunday Essien, explained during a tour of the site that fetish activities were not conducted in the shrine as most tourists insinuated.

“The shrine is only a preservation of the site where late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti communicated with his ancestor.

“It was only in the past that fetish activities were conducted at the shrine, but nothing like that takes place again,” he said.

The tour which is billed to last for three days would take the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture officials as well as other stakeholders to tourism sites in Badagry, Epe and Ikorodu respectively.

Some of the dignitaries on the tour apart from the Commissioner, were; Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr Solomon Bonu; Hon. Fatai Oluwa, Chairman House Committee on Tourism, Arts and Culture; Hon. Desmond Elliot and other members of the House of Assembly Committee, Hon. Rauf Age-Sulaiman and Mr. Ikechi Uko, Organiser, AKWAABA Africa Travel and Tourism

Red Line Rail: LASG to divert traffic at Ogunmokun crossing in Mushin for 4 months

The Lagos State Government has said it will divert traffic at  Kayode/Ogunmokun Streets, Mushin. from April 2 until July 20 for the first phase of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Red Line Project.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, made this known in a statement signed in Lagos on Thursday.

According to Oladeinde, the piling works will take a stretch of four months to allow the contractor achieve the desired results for the rail line.

He stated that alternative routes had been provided for road users to utilise during the course of the construction.

Oladeinde said that motorists on Kayode Street would be diverted to Jibowu to connect Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway to access Ogunmokun Street.

He further stated that motorists on Ogunmokun Street would be diverted to Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway, Ilupeju Bypass, for road users to access Ikorodu Road.

The commissioner assured that the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) would be deployed along the affected routes to manage traffic flow and minimise inconvenience.

He also appealed to road users, residents, especially motorists that ply these corridors to comply with the traffic directions and also support the execution of the project.

Oladeinde said that the project was expected to achieve a seamless multi-modal transport system that would meet the transportation needs of a larger population

Discharge your duty with decorum, LASTMA boss tells officials

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has warned its officers to ensure decorum and civility while discharging their duties on the road and in public domain.

The agency’s General Manager, Mr Bolaji Oreagba, issued the warning in a statement on Friday in Lagos.

The warning was sequel to a viral video where a LASTMA officer, Mr Alabi Olanipekun, was seen to have allegedly assaulted a suspected traffic offender in the agency’s premises at Ilasa.

Oreagba, at a meeting with the complainant, Mr Uchenna Edenze, assured that the officer would face disciplinary action as enshrined in the extant rules and regulations of the civil service.

According to him, henceforth, any official found to have acted unprofessionally in the discharge of his/her duties would have him/herself to blame.

“Such discipline is necessary because such actions negate the training and retraining invested in them by the state government.

“I urge the general road users to always abide by the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018 as enacted by the Lagos State House of Assembly,” he said.

Responding, Mr Uchenna Edenze, the complainant, thanked the general manager and management for the audience, noting that he was not aware he could obtain redress easily from LASTMA.

Culled from Vanguard