Lagos chapter of the Democratic Peoples’ Alliance (DPA) has commiserated with victims of Tuesday’s fire that razed about a dozen buildings and 22 vehicles around Fadeyi axis of Ikorodu Road.

Citing residents and victims testimonies, the party blamed the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) scheme and the poor response of the Lagos State Fire Service for the grave dimension the incident took. It also demanded compensation for owners of burnt houses, businesses and vehicles.

In a statement signed by its Director of Publicity, Felix Oboagwina. “This tragedy has become routine, when fire brigade men cannot get water to quench fire.

How many more losses of this nature will Lagosians suffer before the state erects an emergency and rescue machinery that befits Lagos State? When will the government ever dispatch the fire-fighting equipment launched about one year ago?
“We demand that the government foot the bill for the reconstruction of consumed residences and businesses, and for replacing the burnt vehicles. They must also foot the hospital expenses of victims.”
The DPA statement recalled the party’s past campaigns where it pointed out that the concrete dividers demarcating the BRT corridor had no place on Lagos roads and should be dismantled.

“Those dividers have claimed several lives and limbs and written off several number of vehicles. Even their BRT buses habitually slam into the concrete,” DPA said.
According to DPA’s statement, authorities’ poor response to the fire further proved the state’s neglect of disaster and emergency issues.

“The neglect shows up whenever buildings collapse and perplexed Lagos agencies have to go cap-in-hand soliciting equipment from construction giants, like Julius Berger, to rescue trapped victims,” DPA said.

“Residents also noted that Fire officers responding to their emergency call claimed they had no water to confront the raging chemical fire. That is a poor commentary on a city that had a well-run public water system just some few years ago.”